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French School-children at Work. 


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STORIES ABOUT 

CHILDREN 
OF ALL NATIONS 




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EVERY CHILD CAN READ 


EDITED BY 

REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 



THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 


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PHILADELPHIA 



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COPYRIGHT, 1908. 

The John C. Winston Co. 



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• • 1 


PREFACE 


W E shall find as we read the accounts of the 
life of young folk of various nations 
that boys and girls in distant countries 
amuse themselves in a manner not very dif- 
ferent from our own methods ; and that taking 
away the gilt of civilization, the brown-skinned 
lad is as fond of toys and of play as is his 
white-skinned rival. There are many lessons 
to be learned, as well as much amusement to 
be obtained, from stories of child-life. Some 
of us may think ourselves superior to the 
“strange children” whom we shall meet; but, 
in their obedience to parents and attention to 
set tasks and duties, we may find examples 


PREFACE 


worth imitating, even in some of the so-called 
“savage” lands. Every nation has something 
to teach us. 

In this book are collected a series of stories 
of children living in all parts of the globe — 
not only the boys and girls of England, Ger- 
many, France and other parts of Europe; not 
only the happy little ones of our own dear 
country and Canada, but also the children of 
the Turk, the “Fellah child,” the Hindoo, the 
Chinese, the Japanese, the Malay, and the 
Filipino, Hawaiian, Porto Rican and all the 
new peoples of our own nation. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER I. page 

Boys and Girls of Canada i 

CHAPTER II. 

England's Sons and Daughters 19 

CHAPTER III. 

Children of Australia and South Africa 27 

CHAPTER IV. 

Little Ones of Sweden, Norway and Den- 
mark 38 

CHAPTER V. 

Chinese Boys and Girls 54 

CHAPTER VI. 

Quaint Children of Holland and Belgium. . 63 

CHAPTER VII. 

Child Life in France 73 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER VIII. PAGE 

Sturdy German Children 83 

CHAPTER IX. 

Boys and Girls of Austria and Hungary 93 

CHAPTER X. 

Youthful Redskins of North and South 
America 106 

CHAPTER XI. 

Brave Little Mountaineers of Switzerland. 115 

CHAPTER XII. 

Children of Spain and Portugal 127 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Native Kaffir Youths and Other Strange 
Children 137 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Sunny Children of Italy 149 

CHAPTER XV. 

Young Natives of Egypt and the Barbary 
States 158 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Turkish and Arabian Children 173 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER XVII. page 

Rich and Poor Little Ones of Russia and 
Poland 186 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Plump Little Children of India 199 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Children of Siam, the Land of the White 
Elephant 208 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Quaint, Brave Youths of Japan 220 

CHAPTER XXL 

Little Brown Children of the Philippines 
and Hawaii 227 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Strange Little Eskimos of Alaska 243 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Bovs and Girls of Cuba and Porto Rico 255 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Pride of the United States, Her Chil- 
dren 269 








CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


Chapter I. 

CANADA. 

S TARTING out on our long journey around 
the world, let us make our first call on our 
little cousins in Canada, and see them in 
their homes. The life of the boys and girls in the 
large Canadian towns and cities is nearly like 
that of our own, and we shall speak rather of 
children of the country than of those of the 
towns. 

The life of a boy or girl in the backwoods of 
Canada is, in some ways, a harder one than that 
of most American boys and girls, but it has its 
advantages. When a family first settles down 
in the backwoods, its members almost always 
have to put up with a rough and ready sort of 
house built of logs, in the building of which the 
boys and girls of the family all lend a helping 
hand. The spaces between the logs of the wall 
are chinked with mud and moss, the rooms are 
furnished with very large chimneys and hearths 
capable of holding huge fires. Near the front 
door is generally a well, with a long pole for 
drawing up the bucket, and the upper part of 


2 


CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the house is used for storing hay and other 
fodder. A bee-house, a small stone build- 
ing used as a bake-house, and a roughly-roofed 
dairy are the other buildings, and there are 
fenced paddocks or pasture fields around. 

It is remarkable how comfortable these log- 
houses are, and how cheerful and homelike they 
seem, with the big fire blazing on the hearth, 
the cold winter’s wind howling outside, while 
the old woodsmen, with feet stretched toward 
the grateful blaze, spin long yarns of their 
adventures with the moose and bears and 
Indians. No one can tell stories like these old 
Canadian hunters and trappers. Many were the 
dangers which they have met with and overcome 
when they first came into this new country. 
Wouldn’t you love to be there and hear those 
stories ? 

The school-houses also in remote country 
districts are often log buildings and are 
attended by boys and girls alike. During the 
Canadian winter the snow really lies on the 
ground for weeks and even months together, 
and then the young people go to school in 
sledges, if they live at a distance. This is a 
pleasant-enough way of going, for nothing could 
be more enjoyable than a sleigh-drive through 
a Canadian forest on a bright, frosty winter 
day. 

The horses speed swiftly over the hard, crisp 
snow, the sleigh-bells ring out merrily in the 


CANADA 


3 


air and send the echoes flying through the 
silent forest. Sometimes, as the sleigh passes 
beneath a drooping bough of spruce or hem- 
lock, a cloud of snow comes showering down 
upon the occupants of the sleigh, but it is so 
light and dry that no one is wet. Moonlight 
sleighing is enjoyed by old and young, and a 
sleigh-ride at night is even more delightful and 
picturesque than by day, the soft radiance shim- 
mering over the white, sparkling forest, through 
which the stars glitter like jewels. These 
delightful rides take the place of our hay or 
straw rides, which are so full of fun for us. 

You will see that the Canadian home life does 
not mean simply sitting before a huge fireplace 
reading fairy stories, cooking, sewing, dancing 
in the evening or playing games in the parlor, 
for it includes what is almost the biggest part 
of the child’s pleasure — the great outdoor life 
• — skating, boating or picnicking, canoeing, hunt- 
ing and sailing, and, perhaps the greatest 
pleasure of all, “camping out.” All these 
belong to them in the great, big, open country 
where there is so much “room to play.” 

The woods are full of wild fruits of many 
varieties, such as wild strawberries, black and 
red currants, cranberries, gooseberries and 
raspberries. All these grow in rich abundance 
in the woods, in the swamps or low marshy 
ground, and even by the wayside. The young 
people make up “Strawberry Picnics,” gather 


4 


CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the berries in baskets and pails, lunch in the 
woods, and return laden with their spoils at sun- 
down. These wild berries of various sorts are, 
many of them, very good with sugar and cream, 
and almost all make excellent pies. 

When the warm spring rains have driven 
away the snow, and the sap in the maple-sugar 
trees is running, then the time to make maple 
sugar has come. The country hoys and girls 
love to watch the way in which little holes are 
bored in the trees, a spigot driven in, and pails 
placed beneath to catch the quickly-running sap. 
This used to be collected and put into big iron 
caldrons over huge fires in the woods to be 
boiled down to the delicious syrup which we so 
love to put on our griddle-cakes. Sometimes 
our little friends try this on their own account, 
and, not being sure which are the sugar maples, 
the syrup they get has often a very peculiar 
taste. Now-a-days sugar-making has come to 
be a business and the old, picturesque methods 
have been given up for more modern ones, but 
you will still find the children making their own 
maple sugar in the good, old-fashioned way. 
Just think of being able to make your own 
maple-sugar candy! And how much sweeter it 
tastes when you have made it yourselves ! 

The little Canadians think springtime the 
loveliest season of the whole year, and we can 
just imagine little Jack running up to his sister 
all out of breath and saying : 


CANADA 


5 


“I know something awful nice ! I’ll give you 
three guesses.” 

“Is it a visit to Aunt Polly ?” 

“No.” 

“ Is it a trip to the sea-shore ? ’ ’ 

“No.” 

“Is it a picnic?” 

“No.” 

“Something much nicer than any of them; 
but you have had three guesses.” 

She coaxes him, just as any little girl would, 
and at last he can’t keep it to himself any longer. 

‘ ‘ Mother says, If we are real good and do all 
our lessons until the holidays, then we shall go 
camping. ’ ’ 

“Camping out! In the woods! In tents! 
Oh, won’t that be fun!” And then they dance 
with glee and plan all kinds of things they are 
going to do, for there is nothing these lovers of 
outdoor life like so much as going off in real 
old forests. 

Let us follow them in their trip. The long- 
looked for day arrives at last. The men are 
loading the light canoes and the guide is an 
Indian. Yes, a real live Indian. But he’s not 
a wild one, so there is no danger of anyone 
being scalped. Nothing having been forgotten, 
they all start off down the stream singing 
“Rolling My Ball” or “Tenting on the Old 
Camp Ground.” 

Before long, the party hears, not far ahead, 


6 


CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the sound of water rushing over rocks and 
dashing along at a great rate. This means that 
they are coming to the rapids, or ‘ 4 quick-water, ’ ’ 
which our little friends had never before seen. 
Even brave little Jack, when they plunge into 
it, takes a tight hold on the sides of the canoe, 
and hardly dares look around him. They seem 
to fly along, the water seething, whirling and 
splashing. Each moment he fears that they 
will crash into the black rocks ahead, hut with 
a quick turn of the paddle behind him they 
shoot past unharmed, and when at last the 
rush, and noise, and confusion are over, the 
successful canoemen draw their little boats 
safely to the shore, and the time has come for 
dinner. 

What fun it is now to gather the wood for a 
cooking fire, and how quickly everything is 
made ready ; and sitting around under the 
grand old trees, how they eat! But no time is 
to he lost, for they must reach the camping 
ground far down the stream where they are 
to spend the night. They pass lovely islands 
and sandy beaches, and Jack would have liked 
the day to last forever. 

The camping ground is beside a cool, clear 
spring. It is wonderful to see with what quick- 
ness the tent poles are collected and gotten into 
position, the things unpacked, and the balsam 
twigs cut and laid on the ground within the tents 
for their beds. You and I will he very lucky if 


CANADA 


7 


we can always have beds as comfortable as 
these springy, sweet-smelling boughs. 

It is getting dark. The fireplace is made by 
placing two upright sticks with forked tops in 
the ground and laying a heavy, horizontal pole 
on top. From this the kettles are hung, and the 
fire is built beneath them. The water is soon 
boiling, and the smell of the cooking makes our 
little Canadian friends feel as though they must 
have dreamed about their dinner and hadn’t 
eaten a thing all day, they are so hungry. Pork 
and beans, bacon and canned vegetables, with 
preserved strawberries and toast, may not seem 
very nice to you if you are used to having every- 
thing fresh, but perhaps you have never eaten 
them like our little Canadians, out in the woods 
after a day on the water. 

Anyway, they disappear with quickness, and 
soon the big campfire is built up while the entire 
party gathers around to plan for the next day, 
to sing and, best of all, to listen to the men tell- 
ing stories of hunting and fishing. But we 
notice that Jack has lost the last story, for he 
has fallen sound asleep with his head on his 
mother’s lap. Soon they are all off to bed, and 
quiet settles down over the little encampment. 

All the forest around seems very black. 
The white tents look ghostly as the dying fire 
shoots up for a moment, and there is not a 
sound except the gentle murmuring of the 
stream in its sleep. 


8 


CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The next morning Jack wakes np and sees a 
big wasp in the tent chasing flies. His yell 
wakes np the entire party, and soon the camp is 
as busy as can be. We can only hint at all they 
do that day. How the girls help to wash the 
dishes, how the men drive nails into the tent- 
poles for hooks on which to hang their clothes, 
and how they split logs to make benches and 
tables ; and how the children nearly fall into the 
stream trying to catch fish. 

That night at supper the guide tells them that 
there are salmon in the stream, and promises to 
show them the Indian way of catching at night 
these gamiest of fishes. The little folks are 
greatly excited when the time comes, but, of 
course, are trying to think they are perfectly 
cool. 

Now, only the steersman paddles, the man in 
front kneeling and watching the water. Placed 
in the bow of the canoe is a flaming torch made 
of a roll of birch-bark fastened to the end of a 
stick. This torch throws a glare on the water 
all around and lights up the dusky face of the 
Indian. Soon the salmon are attracted by the 
light, and like a flash a spear is struck down. 
There is a brief struggle and the fish lies gasp- 
ing in the canoe. Jack thinks that sport very 
cruel though very exciting, but he knows that 
when the time comes to help eat the fish he will 
forget all about how it was caught. 

We must leave this little party in the morning 


CANADA 


9 


to their sports and adventures in the woods, 
but we can understand why this 4 4 camping out” 
is among the greatest of all their pleasures. 

But the settlers’ children in the backwoods 
sometimes meet with strange scenes and come 
upon perils and dangers. The following little 
story is told as true: A young man was out 
hunting one day in the forest. As he was pass- 
ing by a clump of raspberry bushes he heard a 
stirring and rustling among the leaves. Think- 
ing it might be a bear or some other wild animal, 
he kept his fingers on the lock of his rifle, and 
cautiously drew near. Presently he saw a thin, 
brown hand stretched out to catch a spray of 
the raspberry bush, and to his great surprise 
the form of a little girl appeared. 

The child presented a strange and pitiful 
figure. Her clothes were torn and soiled, her 
face and hands were as brown as a nut, and 
stained with the juice of wild berries; her hair 
fell in rough tangles over her bright eyes. At 
first she seemed timid and shy of approaching 
the young hunter, but he encouraged her with 
gentle words, and she drew near his side. 

She said that she had been lost in the woods 
while on her way to carry her father ’s dinner — 
had mistaken a cattle-track for the right path. 
She could not exactly say how long she had been 
lost, but thought it must be six or seven days. 
Her father’s dinner had served her for food for 
two days and then she lived on wild berries. 


10 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


She had found plenty of water, and had slept at 
night under the shelter of a large, fallen tree- 
trunk. 

One night she was awakened by a noise, and 
beheld, quite close to her, two black beasts loom- 
ing big in the moonlight. In the confused sen- 
sation of sudden awakening from sleep, she 
thought the two huge, black creatures were her 
father’s cows, and began calling, “Cherry!” 
“Sweetlips!” But no bells tinkled in answer 
to her call, for the creatures were bears. 
Whether it was the novelty of the situation that 
startled them, or whatever the cause was I know 
not, but the two great creatures, instead of 
doing any harm to the little girl, looked at her 
for a few minutes in silence, standing on their 
hind legs, and then trotted quietly away. 

The hunter took the tired and weak little 
wanderer on his shoulder, and carried her to 
the nearest farm-house with which he was 
acquainted. The farmer happened to know the 
little girl’s friends, and she was soon restored 
to her rejoicing parents, who had been vainly 
seeking her for days. 

On a certain day in the early summer, 
the Indians in their villages meet to celebrate 
the Corpus Christi Festival, and it will 
be interesting to know what they do on that 
day. A party of children arrived at the 
pretty Indian village in time for the services in 
the little old church. The congregation con- 


CANADA 


11 


sisted chiefly of Indians and half breeds, with 
our little friends and a few other visitors. Most 
of the Indians wore wonderfully-colored coats 
and dresses, which formed the queerest mixing- 
up of their old savage costume with that of 
civilization. The priest, a tall, good-looking 
man with piercing eyes, sang High Mass, and 
then the procession followed. First came an 
altar boy, then six hoys with lighted tapers and 
two walking backward scattering boughs. 
These boys were all Indians, hut their features 
had lost their heaviness and were lit up with an 
expression of worship. The procession entered 
the school-house not far from the church, where 
the Host, which is the bread used in the Holy 
Sacrament, was placed in a little tabernacle of 
green boughs while the service went on. The 
Indians then went back to their homes to receive 
the visitors, who found their huts for once very 
neat and clean. There they were given some- 
thing to eat. 

In the afternoon all the full-grown Indians, 
as the priest told the visitors, were to hold a 
“pow-wow” for the purpose of electing a chief. 
This good man took our visitors around the 
village and showed them into several of the 
little wooden houses. In one they found twin 
papooses, or Indian babies, 4 ‘ brown as Autumn 
beech leaves,” sleeping side by side in a basket 
of their mother’s making. Many beaded moc- 
casins and brightly-colored baskets were offered 


12 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


for sale, together with handkerchief cases made 
of fragrant wood. The Canadians nearly all 
speak a kind of French, and a mixture of 
French, English and Indian is the only language 
now used by the Indians, and so, although you 
and I could not have understood these Indians, 
their remarks were plain enough to our little 
Canadian cousins. 

Before we mention the winters of Canada, 
we should learn that the great Canadian pro- 
vince of British Columbia is very near our own 
province of Alaska. It is very beautiful there, 
especially in the summer. The mountains are 
very high, and the deep valleys which are quite 
cut off from the winds are wonderfully fertile. 
The snow melting on the mountains forms many 
sparkling streams and water-falls, but the coast 
is the most beautiful portion of Canada. The 
fiords or ocean inlets of British Columbia 
resemble very closely those of Norway, and the 
entire coast, with its forest-covered shores, 
snowy mountain peaks, and flashing cataracts, 
is very beautiful. 

Little Jack and his sister are now very busy 
collecting brown, red and yellow leaves, care- 
fully pressing and varnishing them, and dip- 
ping others in heated wax so that they will keep 
their colors; for Autumn has come, and the 
forests are gleaming in the sunlight with all the 
colors of the rainbow. These leaves are care- 
fully pressed and put aside for a purpose of 
which we shall tell you later. 


CANADA 


13 


We shall see that the Canadians spend Hal- 
lowe’en in very much the same way as we do. 
The children ask their friends, and make lists 
of Hallowe’en games and tricks. Pumpkins are 
transformed into grinning faces to scare the 
visitors as they arrive. Everybody has a happy 
time. Some bob for apples; some try to take 
a ring, with their lips, from a mound of flour; 
some try to take the first bite out of an apple ; 
some try walking backward in the garden 
with a lamp in one hand and a mirror in the 
other. Then, of course, there are fortunes told 
by means of cabbages, and, amid much laughter, 
they play some of the old-fashioned games dear 
to children everywhere — “Hunt the Slipper,” 
“ Blind Man’s Buff,” and many others. 

Soon the weather gets colder and the streams 
are covered with ice, very clear and smooth. 
As you may know, the Canadians are all splen- 
did skaters. Whenever there is skating at any 
place in our country or in England, if there is 
a skater of great skill and grace, that one is 
almost sure to be from Canada. The little chil- 
dren learn to skate almost as soon as they can 
walk. In the cities of Quebec, Toronto and else- 
where, skating is made very much of, for the 
big waters of the St. Lawrence River and of 
Toronto Bay offer fine sheets of ice all winter 
long. Many pretty skating festivals are 
arranged for the young people. A space is cov- 
ered in on the ice, and a rink thus formed. The 


14 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


young people assemble at night, with their 
grown-up friends, all in fancy costumes. The 
place is gayly lit up with colored lamps and 
Chinese lanterns, and to lively strains of music 
the guests skate and show off all their fancy 
tricks. Nothing could be more bright, graceful 
and pretty than the effect thus produced. 

Several years ago a great palace made of 
glittering cakes of ice, with brightly-colored 
flags on the turrets, was built every winter, 
and hundreds in bright costumes, wearing snow- 
shoes and carrying torches, gathered to storm 
this fairy-like fortress. This carnival was the 
greatest day of the year for the little boys and 
girls of Toronto. 

Snowshoeing is one of the peculiar sports of 
the Canadians. The little boys and girls very 
soon learn to avoid stumbling on these broad, 
web-like shoes, and after a while get into the 
easy, swinging stride which makes the miles go 
by so quickly. They would seem to us to be 
almost equal to the “Seven Leagued Boots.’ ’ 
The winters in eastern Canada are very cold, 
but the air is so dry and clear that our little 
friends do not realize how low the thermometer 
is, unless they happen to sea one. In fact, chil- 
dren are as much outdoors in winter as they are 
in summer. Their winters are very long, but 
the children there, warmly housed and clad, 
revel in all the season’s healthful sports. 

As Christmas time draws near, the atmos- 


CANADA 


15 


phere of mystery settles down upon the house- 
hold. Strange looking parcels arrive, hut it is 
no use to ask, for no one seems to know about 
them. When the Holidays begin, there is plenty 
of work to be done, and most of this is the kind 
of work in which the children love to take part. 
Now comes the time when they use the brightly . 
colored leaves which they collected during the 
Fall. Every picture is framed in these, and 
fir, balsam and hemlock are brought in from the 
woods, with bright red cranberries scattered 
through them, to add to the decorations. Of 
course, the mistletoe and holly, two favorite 
evergreens which you will find, if it is possible 
to get them, in all countries where Christmas is 
celebrated, form a very prominent part. 

Great preparations are being made in the 
kitchen. Mother is busy making cakes in 
special shapes and forms, and all the good 
things which children like are being prepared 
by loving hands. The night before Christmas, 
the children are packed off to bed, each one 
hoping to be the first to waken the next morn- 
ing. None of the old customs are forgotten, 
and with the first peep of the sun the mother 
is roused by a childish shout of “ Merry Christ- 
mas ! Merry Christmas ! 9 9 and down the hall it 
goes until the whole household is wide awake. 
Then quickly putting on wrappers and slippers 
the family gathers in the mother ’s room, and as 
the children enter they gaze with eyes as big as 


16 CHILDBEN OF ALL NATIONS 


saucers on the long row of pillow cases bulging 
into the oddest kinds of shapes. 

These are placed to suit each age. The 
youngest, who in this family is a boy, is the first 
to get his pillow case. We can well imagine 
what is in it, for their toys differ but little from 
ours. Books, just the ones he was wanting, 
games, a top, a box of blocks, a tiny pair of 
snowshoes, and maybe a bugle, a sword or a 
drum, and, best of all, a nice, brightly-painted 
sled. Then his little sister examines her pillow 
case while all look on with the greatest interest. 
Soon afterward the servants come in and thank 
their kind master and mistress for all the good 
things they have found in their own pillow 
cases. Some of the families use stockings, the 
same as we do, but the majority do as these we 
are visiting, preferring the pillow cases, per- 
haps because they hold so much more. 

At breakfast, each member of the family finds 
a piece of holly at his place, and this is to be 
worn all day. The old folks go to church, but 
Christmas dinner does not come until the even- 
ing. The children are too excited, as you or I 
would be, to think of anything but presents dur- 
ing the afternoon. Christmas dinner is the only 
time in the year when a second or even a third 
helping is rarely refused and everybody gets all 
he can eat of good things at the jolly Christmas 
table. 

In the evening, all gather around the fire 


CANADA 


17 


and sing. The youngest of the family, allowed 
to stay up so late, is asked to sing “God Save 
the King,” which he does with great glee and 
pride. At ten o’clock, tea and plum-cake are 
brought in, and the evening always ends with a 
few of the favorite hymns. 

There are certain sports in Canada which we 
cannot enjoy, though the boys must be a little 
older before they take part in them. In some 
hilly provinces, the boys slide down the smooth 
surfaces on skees, or very long strips of wood, 
turned up at the ends and fastened on the feet 
like skates. This is a very exciting sport, 
though it is often dangerous. The hoys also 
like to chop a hole in the ice and catch fish in the 
water beneath. Sometimes, they go at night 
and hold a torch over the hole, when the fish will 
be attracted to the light and caught more easily. 
Tobogganing is another sport which is pretty 
generally enjoyed and is very little different 
from the sledding,, with which we are all so 
familiar. In fact, the only difference is that the 
sled is flat on the snow. 

Little boys and girls are seldom allowed on 
the ice-boats in which their older brothers fly 
along over the big, frozen waters of the St. Law- 
rence River and Toronto Bay. This sport is 
full of risk and danger. Just think of skim- 
ming over the ice faster than you have ever 
gone on a train, for they do go that fast at 
times ! 


18 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


But we have seen what the little Canadian 
boys and girls are doing, and so now we shall 
take a big ocean steamer and call on onr next 
nearest relative in “dear old England.’ ’ 

We feel the moving of machinery beneath us. 
Everyone on board is waving his handkerchief 
and calling “Good-bye” to those on shore, and 
we are off for the great Atlantic Ocean and a 
long journey over the wide waters. 


Chapter II. 

ENGLAND. 

W E find on our arrival in England that the 
little British baby, like the American 
child, is tended very carefully — • 
washed, dressed, nursed and petted by all in the 
house until he is able to crawl and then learns 
to walk nicely. The time when the baby has 
his first birthday party — that is fun! They 
play “ Blind Man’s Buff,” ‘ 4 Puss in the Cor- 
ner,” “Hunt the Slipper,” and many such 
pleasant games in which the youngest can join 
and enjoy the fun as much as the older ones. 
After some fine fun, the little one climbs on his 
mother’s knee until it is time to go to sleep. 
The pretty picture book helps to amuse and 
teach him, and slowly and surely the first stages 
of lessons and music are passed. The perambu- 
lator (which is their long name for the baby- 
carriage) is put away, and the hoop, the top, 
the battledore and shuttlecock (games which we 
do not often see in America) and the paint box 
are daily amusements and pastimes for the 
children. 

A few years pass away, and then study time 
comes. Most of the boys and -girls whose par- 
ents can afford it are taught at home by a 

19 


20 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


governess. The poorer children are sent to 
government schools. The little girls who wish 
to be useful to their parents help their mother 
in the housekeeping, learn to sew and hem and 
stitch and put on buttons. 

When the holidays come, then the British 
boys and girls have a good time. The school 
year in Great Britain is generally divided into 
three terms, so there are three separate holi- 
days — Eastertime, Midsummer and Christmas. 
At Eastertime it is the custom to send cards to 
children, and older people too, but the children 
receive more ; pretty pictures with verses suited 
to the season, much as we send here at various 
seasons to our friends. 

Good St. Valentine is not so much remem- 
bered in England as he used to be; Christmas 
and Easter and birthday cards have put valen- 
tines aside in many families. These cards make 
up very pretty albums for the poorer children. 
Some boys and girls paste all their cards into 
scrap-books, and after a while give them away 
to poorer children whose parents. cannot afford 
to give them such nice things. There are thou- 
sands of children in Great Britain who work in 
mines and factories, and have no comforts, no 
pretty toys, and have very little care shown to 
them, but whenever it is possible we like to 
think that the good gifts and presents of the 
wealthier class are gladly and freely shared 
with them. 


ENGLAND 


21 


The great pet of the English girl is her doll, 
and in whatever station of life she may be the 
“dolly” is cared for almost as much as the 
baby. Even the favorite fat pussy cat is neg- 
lected for the new doll. Some of the English 
children have splendid doll houses, and a beau- 
tiful entertainment is held at the doll’s house 
at which tea and cake are the leading features. 
In this way, as you know, the little English and 
the little American girls are very much alike. 

In the morning, our English cousins always 
have marmalade with their breakfast and are 
all very fond of it. The English are very fond 
of tea, and would no more think of missing their 
afternoon tea, generally out of doors, in good 
weather, served with bread and butter sand- 
wiches cut very, very thin, than they would their 
dinner. 

The English girl is carefully educated in the 
arts of dress and behaviour. From ten years 
old, or earlier, until she is seventeen or eighteen, 
she has no small amount of trouble and money 
expended upon her and is looked after with the 
greatest care. Unlike our girls, who are per- 
mitted to mingle freely and be good comrades 
with the boys, the English girl remains under 
her mother’s close care until she is old enough 
to be presented at court, or to go out into 
society in a less public fashion. Until then she 
generally wears her hair down her back. 

There are some anniversaries which are kept 


22 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


by children more than by grown-up people in 
England. One of these is the fifth day of 
November — The Gunpowder Plot Anniversary. 
On that day, in the year 1605, as yon will learn 
in your English History, Guy Fawkes and some 
others tried to blow up the king and Parlia- 
ment, but their plot was found out and they 
were arrested just in time in the cellars beneath 
the House of Parliament. This day is celebrated 
by a display of fireworks, squibs, etc., which in 
the country and suburbs give much amusement 
to the people. Boys and girls unite in letting 
off Catherine or pin-wheels and Roman candles. 
Sometimes a little battle is arranged, and the 
opposing sides of boys shoot Roman candles 
and throw squibs at one another. This form of 
firework display, however, is rather dangerous 
and likely to lead to accidents. 

In summer one of the favorite sports is the 
national game of cricket. It is a curious fact 
that few English girls and no people out of 
England, except here in America and in the 
English Colonies, understand cricket. Still, 
wherever you find English people in Europe, 
Asia, or Africa, you will find cricketers, and as 
a rule they are fine, manly fellows. Girls play 
lawn tennis and skip with the rope; they can 
row, ride and scull a boat, but they cannot play 
cricket, and, generally they do not understand 
the details of the game. It is too active and 
rough a game for them. 


ENGLAND 


23 


But there cannot be a prouder moment in any 
English boy’s life than when, as the cap- 
tain of his school eleven, he has made his 100 
runs — “got into his century” — and, after defy- 
ing all the bowling, is left “not out.” There 
may be triumphs in after-life — the degree at 
the university, the success in the hunting field 
or in the fields of business or science, but we 
venture to say that the most cherished triumph 
of the English boy is his cricket ‘ 4 average, ’ 9 or 
his successful leadership of his team in the 
cricket-field. 

In London, the children have every year a 
masquerade dance, for which they spend many 
days preparing the fancy dresses, strange 
clothes and funny costumes which they are to 
wear on that night. They dress up to represent 
the children of all nations, favorite children of 
Mother Goose stories, gypsies, kings, clowns 
and all sorts of queer people. See if you can 
guess what the boys and girls in this picture 
are dressed to represent. 

In England, there are certain times for cer- 
tain games and to play cricket before Easter 
or to commence rowing before the Inter-Univer- 
sity race, would be thought quite out of order. 
In Scotland golf takes the place of cricket, and 
in Ireland hurling, like the English “hockey,” 
is the national sport. Throughout Great Bri- 
tain the game of rounders is universally popu- 
lar. This is the game from which our national 


24 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


base-ball grew. The diamond or field of play 
is the same; the bases are called points, but 
the runner to be put out may be hit with the 
ball (they play with a soft one). Otherwise it 
is very little different from our base-ball. 
Their game of association foot-ball, played 
throughout the winter when the snow is not too 
deep, has come over to us, and has grown in 
popularity in the eastern part of the United 
States. This game is entirely different from 
our college Rugby game, for the players must 
not touch the ball with their hands. 

All Saints’ Eve, or Hallowe’en, is another 
occasion upon which the young people, more 
particularly in Scotland and Ireland, have 
many games. In Ireland, to drop melting lead 
into a glass of water for telling the future, 
bobbing for apples, burning nuts on bars and 
other games of the same kind are always 
enjoyed. The children go into the kitchen for 
the fun and the servants enjoy their coming. 
Cook, nurse, butler and housekeeper, all are 
present. The “ Apple and Candle” game, not 
so well known with us, is common there and very 
amusing. Two sticks or laths are laid across 
each other, fastened together, and hung from 
the ceiling. At the four ends are hung in suc- 
cession pieces of apple and the ends of lighted 
candles. The whole is then set whirling around 
and the skill consists in snapping the apple as 
it comes around and escaping the candle. 


ENGLAND 


25 


Sometimes the player has a nice mouthful of 
candle, which gives him a relish for Hallowe ’en 
— and longer. Popping of chestnuts completes 
the amusement. 

Christmas is celebrated in a way so nearly 
like our own that we shall only mention the few 
ways in which they differ. No Christmas din- 
ner there would be complete without plum pud- 
dings and mince pies. The great pudding 
comes in burning, is placed on the table, and 
then the fire is extinguished. The lamps are 
turned down, the candles put out and the spirit 
in the dish is lit again. They dig out the raisins 
like so many “ Jack Horners,’ ’ suddenly some 
one looks green and ghastly — they all look 
green and ghastly — someone has thrown in 
some salt! The candles are lit, the lamps 
turned up and they all sing Christmas carols 
before parting. 

In Ireland on St. Stephen’s Day a favorite 
sport is to hunt the wren. The boys go out with 
sticks into the field and these 4 4 wren boys” try 
to find and kill poor Jenny Wren. 

“The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, 

On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze.” 

The wren is said to be the king of all birds, 
because, as the story goes, when the eagle flew 
the highest of all birds and was elected king, 
the wren, which had been hiding on the eagle’s 
back, claimed to be greater, because she arose 


26 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


from the tired eagle’s feathers and flew up a 
long, long distance after her long rest, and cer- 
tain wicked boys wish to kill her descendants 
on that account. 

During the holidays the English generally 
have a “school treat” and a Christmas tree for 
the poorer children, in which the clergyman and 
a certain number of young ladies take a very 
active part. There is much planning in getting 
ready a fine and shapely fir tree, dec- 
orated with all the possible and impossible 
animals that ever might, would, could or should 
have inhabited Noah’s Ark. These animals are 
for the younger children, who are also given 
musical instruments of many kinds, including 
drums, penny whistles and squeaking pipes. 
All these played and blown and whistled at 
once, mingling with the baaing of woolly toy 
sheep, the barking of the four-wheeled dogs, 
and the mooing of wooden cows, which complain 
when their tails are pulled — and no wonder — 
make up a concert in which there is very little 
music but a great deal of noise. After such a 
“school treat” for children, those who take 
part are half deaf and feel much inclined to 
stay in bed next day. But for all that, it is 
great fun for the young folks and gives them 
one of the happiest days of their lives. 


Chapter III. 


BRITISH COLONIES IN AUSTRALIA 
AND SOUTH AFRICA. 

E NGLAND, as you know, has colonies much 
larger than herself — Canada, Australia 
and South Africa and in other parts of 
the world. So let us now take a glance at what 
the little boys and girls are doing in the rest of 
the earth where the people are mostly English 
and where our own language is spoken. In 
Australia, the school-life is, of course, very 
much like that in England, and the same may be 
said of all English colonies. In Australia, the 
school-hours are usually of the same length as 
in England, but somewhat differently divided. 
There is a longer intermission at mid-day, 
sometimes as much as two hours, and lessons 
then continue farther into the afternoon. From 
twelve until two being the hottest part of the 
day, this is a pleasant arrangement. Moreover, 
it allows plenty of time for the pupils at day- 
schools to dine, mid-day dinner being very com- 
mon in the colonies. 

There are now excellent schools of all sorts 
in all the large Australian cities. Every town 
of any importance has also its grammar-school 
or high school. Less attention, perhaps, is paid 
27 


28 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


to modern languages, the near neighborhood of 
France and Germany to England rendering the 
French and German languages more necessary 
to the English than it is to the colonists. 

Tutors and governesses are not common in 
Australia — at least not in the cities. The 
schools are usually large and roomy buildings ; 
lofty and airy rooms being a necessity in a 
warm climate where people are gathered 
together in numbers. The playgrounds, too, 
are often large and roomy places. It not infre- 
quently happens on warm afternoons that some 
one of the masters will take his class out into 
the playground, and carry on the lesson of the 
hour under the shadow of the trees, to the 
immense refreshment of both master and 
scholars. Boys and girls who have never 
known school in such heat can hardly realize 
how difficult it is to pay close attention to 
lessons when the thermometer is standing at, 
say, 85 degrees in the shade. Oh, how heavy 
and drowsy they get over Caesar and Livy on 
these long, warm afternoons ! How slowly they 
drag through their studies helped by a patient, 
much-enduring master, himself struggling hard 
against the oppressive influences of the sleepy 
air ! 

But the master is kind and considerate. He 
makes and keeps to this rule — whenever the 
mercury touches 90 degrees he dismisses the 
school for the afternoon. And then with what 


BRITISH COLONIES 


29 


glee they fling aside books, slates and pens, 
and with a shout rush into the playground! 
The rest of the day is spent in the fields, on the 
breezy hills or on the waters of the lakes and 
rivers. 

On the stations — that is, the large sheep and 
cattle farms far up in the country — it is more 
common to find tutors and governesses. Here 
the morning hours are spent in study; the 
afternoon is given up to riding, rambling in 
the forest, and other pastimes, in which both 
teachers and scholars share. Bush boys and 
girls very soon become expert riders, learn to 
catch, bridle, and saddle their own ponies, and 
to become independent in everything connected 
with horses. 

The girls learn to ride equally well with the 
boys. Indeed, if one is to ride at all in the 
Australian hunt, one must ride well, for the 
roads are very rough — mere bridle-paths 
usually; and the “open” is blocked by fallen 
logs, clumps of trees and low brushwood, among 
which it requires skill and nerve to steer your 
steed. 

Bush boys learn to shoot also at an early age, 
there being usually plenty of game of different 
kinds on the stations — kangaroo, opossums, 
bandicoot, wild duck, parrots, and other birds 
of many varieties. Boys go into the woods and 
bush to study natural history, and many tales 
might be told of adventures which have 


30 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


occurred through lads wandering too far. So 
long as they do not roam about all is well, but 
to be lost in the bush is a terrible fate, as rescue 
is almost hopeless. The natives are also to be 
dreaded. They will attack a station if any of 
their friends have been ill-treated and hurt. 
Then the people at the station must look to 
themselves, for the spears will come thickly, 
and even fire-arms may not avail the defenders 
against such a crowd of “ blacks.’ ’ The 
“ boomerang’ ’ in the hand of the native is a 
most dangerous weapon. It is a flat curved 
piece of wood, which, when thrown properly, 
travels almost in a circle, and either hits the 
object aimed at or returns to the person who 
threw it. Bush boys acquire a self-reliance and 
independence which are often of the greatest 
value. Let me tell you of a true incident which 
will show this. Two boys, whom we shall call 
Willie and Dick, set off one fine morning from 
the head station on horseback in company with 
a stockman, an old servant of their father’s. 
They rode on merrily through the bush till they 
were many miles from their dwelling house. 
Suddenly, while riding down a steep and rugged 
gully, the stockman’s horse shied and threw his 
rider heavily to the ground. The boys imme- 
diately dismounted, and found that old Joe 
(that was the name of the man) was so badly 
hurt that he could not move, and so shaken that 
he was able to speak only in a low voice. 


BRITISH COLONIES 


31 


The two lads who were just entering their 
teens, were at first a good deal frightened, but 
presently began to consider what was to be 
done. It was decided that Dick should ride 
back to the head station for help, and that 
Willie should remain and watch by Joe. So 
Dick remounted and set off, and Willie’s watch 
began. It was now late afternoon, and the sun 
was sinking. Presently Joe opened his eyes 
and murmured “ water” and Willie brought a 
little water in his hat from a creek close by and 
moistened the dry lips. 

The season was autumn, and the air grew 
chill with the sun down. Willie kindled a fire 
and began to chafe the wounded man’s cold 
hands, endeavoring to cheer him with kind and 
hopeful words. Finding that Joe still remained 
cold, he took off his coat, and spread it gently 
over him, and made him as snug and comfort- 
able as he could under the circumstances. 

The stars came out, the wind blew keener, 
and the forest grew very lonely; nothing broke 
the deep stillness save now and then the melan- 
choly cry of the plover or the curlew, and the 
sigh of the wind among the gum-trees. The 
hours went slowly by, and Willie’s heart sank 
lower and lower. He was very cold, and bodily 
cold itself depresses the heart and courage. 
Five hours thus passed, and still no sign of help 
came. At last an idea struck Willie. He took 
a blazing brand from the fire, walked some dis- 


32 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


tance in the direction in which he knew Dick 
and those with him must come, lit a small fire, 
walked on again for about a quarter of a mile, 
and kindled another blaze. In this way he 
made a line of fires, and then retraced his steps 
to Joe’s side, observing, with satisfaction, that 
his fires were all blazing brightly, and would 
serve to guide the rescuers more readily to the 
spot. 

In about another hour Willie heard the sound 
of approaching wheels, and, a moment after, 
the voices of his father and brother. They had 
a light four-wheeled wagon, with rugs and 
shawls, and thus the wounded stockman was 
conveyed safely back to the homestead. His 
leg had been badly broken; but in time he 
recovered from his hurt, and never did he for- 
get the service which the boys had rendered 
him. 

The children on Australian stations, and 
especially the girls, are very fond of pets, and 
some of these would greatly surprise American 
boys and girls. A tame kangaroo, for instance, 
feeding and hopping about in the vicinity of a 
house, is strange enough to an unaccustomed 
eye, but it is a very pretty sight. 

There are still many snakes in the Australian 
bush, and bush-bred boys are often very fear- 
less in the pursuit of these pests. The dead 
snake is sometimes suspended in a cleft stick, 
and thus brought home in triumph across the 


BRITISH COLONIES 


33 


shoulder of his captor. We once knew a boy 
who kept a piece of flat board, about a foot 
long and an inch broad, upon which he used to 
make a nick with his knife for every snake he 
killed. In this way he covered the whole stick 
with nicks, and every nick meant a snake less in 
the world. 

Almost all the games and sports pursued by 
the English boys and girls are known and prac- 
ticed also in Australia, but some are in greater 
favor than others. Climate, in a large measure, 
determines this. In England foot-ball is at 
least as popular a game with boys as any other 
you could name, but in Australia, though foot- 
ball is coming to be played more and more, it 
stands no chance beside cricket, being less suited 
to a warm climate. 

Cricket is certainly the most popular game 
with these boys, and after that I should say 
lawn tennis, rowing and riding were the sports 
most in favor. Both these latter amusements 
are enjoyed under very favorable conditions, 
owing to the long stretches of uninterrupted 
fine weather, when it is possible to be out in the 
open air, on horseback or on the water, from 
day-break to sun down. Many girls become 
very good rowers in Australia, and equally 
graceful and fearless riders. In all the country 
districts a pony or horse may be kept at a slight 
cost. In towns, the expense is, of course, 
greater, but even in towns Australian boys and 


3 


34 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


girls manage to get more riding than we do in 
our cities, where horse exercise is possible only 
to people who own large means. 

What I have been telling you about the life 
of boys and girls in Australia applies almost 
equally to New Zealand and Tasmania, which 
make up the Australian group of colonies. The 
climate of the latter is colder than that of the 
main island, but there is never ice thick enough 
for skating and rarely enough snow on the 
ground for snowballing. 

And now we shall take a glance at the English 
children in South Africa. The home-life of 
children in the remoter districts of Cape Colony 
and South Africa generally partakes of the 
freedom and open air character which dis- 
tinguishes Canadian backwoods life; but many 
of the pastimes which Canadian boys and girls 
enjoy cannot be followed in Africa by reason 
of its warmer climate. On the South African 
farms it is common to have black servants 
about the place, negroes or bush-men. These, 
when treated kindly, often make very good ser- 
vants, and become strongly attached to the 
young people of the household. They teach the 
boys to fish and hunt, to yoke the oxen, and 
even to milk the cows, as well as many secrets 
of wood-craft and farm-life useful in colonial 
country districts. 

The yoking the oxen takes some time, and 
requires considerable skill. The animals are 


BRITISH COLONIES 


35 


not always the most obedient creatures in the 
world, and a stout “jambok,” or whip — a cruel 
instrument — is used to keep them in order. 
Every one possesses a wagon, and when going 
up-country from Cape Town the wagon must 
contain all necessaries. A first-rate' wagon is 
expensive, but very serviceable, and often 
requires a dozen oxen to draw it. The wheels 
are heavy and strong, the harness, or treck- 
tow, of buffalo hide, and very tough. 

The boys must be careful where they decide 
to camp out, since water is necessary for the 
animals. The camp is formed so that wagon, 
and sometimes its contents, form a protection, 
which is necessary because of wild animals and 
natives. The start up-country from Cape Town 
is always interesting, but one must be a good 
horseman to proceed with comfort and rapidity. 

People who live in Cape Colony would, as a 
rule, prefer to travel in one of these great useful 
wagons than in a vessel by sea from port to 
port. And yet these land journeys behind the 
great team of oxen of the color of red bricks 
were often attended with considerable danger. 
We shall tell you of an adventure which befell 
some young people who were sent by wagon 
from Cape Town to another part of the South 
African colonies. 

During such a journey as this the wagon had 
to pass along “ roads’ ’ which, as you may 
imagine, were very different from our well- 


36 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


made straight, macadamized highways. It had 
also to cross streams and rocky chasms, and 
the conveyance in which the poor children were 
was jolted abont in a most unpleasant manner. 

The wagon was driven by a Hottentot, who 
went on for some time very well, and managed 
the journey successfully. A nurse or attendant 
accompanied the children, who were both very 
happy; they sang songs and laughed and chat- 
tered while the heavy oxen pulled the wagon 
up dangerous places and down great hills, some- 
times even jumping over the big ruts and little 
watercourses. 

At length the driver looked puzzled. He had 
lost his way ! But the children had no anxiety, 
though the attendant had, and when at last the 
wagon came to a steep place, and had to go 
round a rocky point, the nurse pulled the little 
girl and boy out. 

It was fortunate she did so. In another 
minute the wagon, oxen, and all the contents 
of the wagon went tumbling over the cliff, down 
through the trees ; the poor oxen trying in vain 
to save themselves as they fell into the ravine 
below. They were all killed, and lay in a heap 
at the bottom of the cliff. 

The children had to walk and he carried for 
three days, nearly starving; but after many 
troubles and much suffering, they met some peo- 
ple in a wagon who fortunately came from the 
farm of which the poor children were in search. 


BRITISH COLONIES 


37 


The travelers were quickly taken up and fed — 
the children were half dead, but care and rest 
revived them. 

The whole tale would make quite a long story, 
but the children arrived safely at last, and very 
thankful, you may be sure, that they had not 
fallen over the precipice with the wagon and the 
unfortunate oxen. So you see traveling in 
Cape Colony has its dangers as well as railway 
traveling in other countries, 


Chapter IV. 

SWEDEN, NOE WAY AND DENMABK. 

S WEDEN and Norway are so near together 
that the manners and the customs of their 
inhabitants are very similar. It must, 
however, be borne in mind that the young Nor- 
wegians are more accustomed to the sea than 
the Swedes, and swim about like fish in their 
fiords, or bays. 

It will be interesting to us to learn what we 
would be called in Sweden. It would be barn . 
A boy is pjoke, pronounced poyk. A little boy 
is gosse, not unlike goose. A girl, flicka ; a 
maiden, mo. Thus we can imagine Swedish 
parents speaking to their children. Their 
Christian names are numerous, as they have one 
for every day in the year, and many of them 
are very high-sounding. The peasants like 
grand names for their little ones, such as 
Adolph, Adricin, Gotfried, Gustavus, for boys; 
and Josephina, Thora, Ingeborg, for girls; and 
if they have no name prepared, they seek one 
in the almanac for the particular day of baby’s 
birth. It is baptized the next Sunday, and taken 
to church by the godmother, who provides the 
christening-garments, which are often trimmed 
with colored bows ; whilst the infant has beads 

38 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


39 


round its neck, and wears a cap with very little 
border. The clergyman holds it well over the 
font, and pours water over the back of the head 
three times, then wipes it with a towel. As the 
baby is swathed in six-inch-wide bandages, so 
that it cannot move its legs, and sometimes not 
even its arms, it is obliged to lie very quiet 
during this service. 

The people have their reasons for this swath- 
ing, the first of which is that they think it makes 
the limbs grow straight, the second that it turns 
baby into a compact bundle to carry. When 
thus bundled up, infants have been said to 
resemble the tail of a lobster, or even its whole 
body. In the north they are often hung from a 
long, springy pole stuck in the wall, to be out 
of the way; and, being by nature quiet, they 
are supposed not to mind it. Their cradles, 
which are very simple, are also often suspended 
by a spiral spring from the roof, which must be 
more comfortable than the pole. Every time the 
baby moves the spring pole moves with him, 
and except when asleep he spends his time 
bobbing up and down. In Lapland, a country 
in the north of Sweden and Norway, the people 
take these ‘ 4 swaddlings ’ ’ to church. But 
instead of carrying them into church they make 
a hole in the snow outside in the churchyard, 
and bury them in it, leaving a small opening 
for breathing purposes. The babies are kept 
splendidly warm, while their fathers within the 


40 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


sacred building have tlieir beards frozen to their 
fur coats by the freezing of their own breaths. 

As soon as a peasant boy can walk, he is put 
into trousers, buttoned outside his jacket; and 
these are so baggy behind that it is often funny 
to see him, for they once belonged to his father, 
but were cut off at the legs, and simply drawn 
round the boy’s waist, without reducing their 
size. Add to this that the feet are shod either 
with little jack-boots or wooden shoes, and we 
have a strange picture. Their stockings either 
have leather heels or no heels at all, so that the 
mother is spared the trouble of mending them. 
Neither has she much labor with their heads, 
the hair of which is cropped as closely as pos- 
sible. The girls also wear wooden shoes; but 
they have gingham kerchiefs or caps on their 
heads, frocks down to their heels, and quaint 
pinafores. 

In spite of their head-gear, they are famous 
for the beauty of their hair, which they wear 
plaited in a long tail down their backs. They 
sometimes cut it off and sell it, and then let it 
grow again. The young gentlemen and ladies 
dress much as the English do, and are extremely 
neat and clean. 

In the country the children have few toys. 
A little girl of seven had never seen a doll until 
one was given her by another little girl who was 
more fortunate, and she almost cried with joy 
over it. Her astonishment at a doll’s house 
may be imagined. 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


41 


While the poor children make their feasts out 
of doors in the summer, by arranging broken 
crockery surrounded by leaves and putting their 
cakes upon it, or squeezing red currants and 
cranberries through muslin to make wine, those 
in richer families have always a doll’s 
house. This they keep in excellent order. 
There is a real cooking-range in the kitchen, 
and when visitors come, they amuse themselves 
by preparing coffee, boiling potatoes, making 
pancakes, or puddings of apples, grated bread, 
sugar, and the like. This teaches them to be 
little housewives; for in time, when grown up, 
they will be expected to practice all the lessons 
they have learned when young, whether at home 
or at school. 

The winters are very long and severe in 
Sweden, with often snow on the ground from 
November till April; so the little Swedes must 
be much indoors, except when they sledge on 
wooden things called kalke. They draw all 
sorts of things upon it, and employ it to take 
their books and dinners to school. You may be 
sure they are well wrapped when they use the 
kalke, being muffled up in warm jackets and 
hoods, and knitted gloves with only a thumb, 
like babies ’ gloves, for they have no fancy to 
be frost-bitten. Nearly all the Norwegians can 
coast on the narrow strips of wood six feet long 
called skees. They can go very fast over the 
snow on these, which are the same as our little 
cousins in Canada use. 


42 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


When old enough, all peasant children, that 
is, those of the working class, must go to school 
during part of the year. They are excused while 
the harvest and potato-digging are in progress, 
because they help their parents at those times, 
but all other seasons they are sent to school. 

In connection with the day-schools, there is 
one day set apart to teach the girls to sew, 
knit, spin, and weave, and the boys to make 
baskets, tubs and wooden spoons; all of which 
they can follow up in the long winter evenings, 
and which will be of use to them in after life. 
Also in summer the boys have small gardens, 
where they are taught to sow seeds, and are 
told about the different kinds of grain and 
grasses. The children are very industrious and 
willing to learn. 

The country churches in Sweden do not have 
Sunday-schools, as a rule; but here and there 
good ladies assemble the children at their houses 
or elsewhere on Sundays, to learn the Scrip- 
tures and sing hymns. Such is their desire to 
learn that they are known to trudge five or six 
miles for an hour’s teaching, and their behavior 
is such as would be seen in few of our Sunday- 
schools. They do not care much for their own 
church music, but they seem to like some of 
our American hymns which have come into use. 

They are made church members at fifteen, 
and before the ceremony takes place they go 
for a long time, once or twice a week, to be 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


43 


prepared by their clergyman. He always con- 
firms his own flock, and they then partake of 
the Lord’s Supper. The girls wear black 
dresses, white aprons, and white kerchiefs on 
their heads at their confirmation. 

Afterwards a girl may wear long dresses, and 
in the higher classes she is usually presented 
with a gold ring, and taken into society. 

The pastor questions the children in church. 
They stand round him, as he walks in and out 
amongst them, having a good eye upon such as 
are heedless or careless. But they are usually 
too anxious to learn not to attend to his teach- 
ing. The parents remain to listen to their 
answers, so they have a twofold reason for being 
good. 

After they have been taken into church mem- 
bership working boys are ready to engage in 
work of some kind. The young Swedes begin 
life by obtaining a written statement from their 
clergyman, which is called a prest betyg, as well 
as one from their school master or mistress, 
known as a betyg. By these betygs a child can 
be traced from birth to death, as they carry 
them from place to place. The young people 
must, therefore, take care not to have anything 
of a bad kind written on their betygs. A story 
is told of a school-boy who played a trick on 
his master, and the master paid him back by 
writing it on his betyg. 

As there are only as many people in the 


44 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


whole of Sweden as there are in New York, the 
poor can be better cared for. Orphan children 
are sent by those who are appointed to care for 
the poor, to be boarded in different families, 
and they are always kindly treated. One day 
a lady, driving over a lonely road, saw a poor 
woman crawling to open a gate for her. 
Inquiries were made, little visits paid and com- 
forts sent, until the weary woman at length 
died. Her two boys were placed by the parish 
with two farmers, while her little girl of three 
was taken or 1 1 boarded” by a young married 
woman, who had a baby of her own. It was the 
pride and pleasure of this kind foster-mother 
to take the little girl every three months to 
the good lady who had rescued her, and proudly 
to exhibit her, dressed like a little old woman, 
with her dead mother’s black silk kerchief on 
her head. 

The children of the upper and middle classes 
are very well educated, and have much the 
same course of study as we have. They learn 
and speak English as well as other languages. 
They are very polite, and bow and curtsey 
when they enter a room. There is a pretty 
custom observed by all: after a meal, each 
guest thanks the host and hostess, and even 
little children are taught to go up, to their 
parents and thank them, at the same time kiss- 
ing their hands. They usually stand at the 
table when at their meals. 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


45 


All ranks in both countries are industrious, 
and if the peasant maidens spin and weave, 
the young ladies make the finest crochet and 
lace trimmings to edge the sheets and pillow- 
cases, sometimes woven on their father’s loom, 
for much is still done by hand which with us is 
done by machinery. If a little girl is called by 
her mother to help with the cooking she never 
once thinks of saying, 4 4 Why! mamma,” or 
"I’ll come in a minute,” for she flies at once 
to do whatever is wanted of her. She is very 
proud when she is allowed to help. 

Name-days, birtli-days, and Christmas Eve 
are the great festivals for the young people. 
On the two former the table is tastefully 
wreathed with evergreens, and the bouquets 
and presents nicely arranged upon them. 
Sometimes the child finds them ready for her 
when she awakes in the morning. The birth- 
day cakes are eaten with coffee in the afternoon. 
They are a sort of sweet bread flavored with 
saffron, and with the initials of her name baked 
in it. But there are also light sponge-cakes 
covered with spun sugar-candy. Even in the 
depth of winter friends carry a few flowers, 
grown in pots, when they go to visit them. 

Importance is attached to the blessings by 
the aged. As in the Bible we read of Isaac 
blessing Jacob, so in Norway the grandfather 
will bless the little child brought to him, and 
no doubt the prayer of the righteous man is 


46 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


heard. The scene is a solemn one, not to be 
forgotten by those who have witnessed it. 

But Christmas Eve is the grand festival of 
the year, both with rich and poor. In the cot- 
tages the house is cleaned, the Sunday clothes 
are put on, white curtains are hung, and the 
tables are covered with white cloths. Everyone 
has been working for weeks before at the pre- 
sents, which are sometimes thrown into the 
rooms so that the givers may be guessed at, 
not known. Sad and poor indeed must be the 
person who gets no Christmas gift. Thus, all 
through Christendom, “Goodwill to men” is 
shown when we remember the birth of our 
Saviour. 

At four o’clock on Christmas morning there 
is service in the country churches, which, for 
the only time in the year, are then lighted with 
candles. It generally happens that there is 
frozen snow enough for sleighing, and whole 
families crowd their sledges or sleighs and 
drive many miles to church, while the bells 
“jangle across the snow.” But there are no 
decorations, probably because of the extreme 
cold, and the scarcity of evergreens — the cold 
must be felt to be imagined, for few country 
churches are warmed. For Christmas decora- 
tions, however, they have the lofty pines covered 
with frozen snow, and the birches glittering with 
sleet. In the midst of them are the frozen 
lakes, over which glide the sledges, and upon 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


47 


which look down the moon and stars as if the 
Ice King were holding his court. 

On Christmas day the Swedes have no turkey 
and plum pudding, as we have. The poor feast 
on salt fish, with horse-radish sauce, salt pork, 
rice, milk, and cakes ; the rich on various dain- 
ties. They make holiday from Christmas to 
Twelfth Day, or at any rate, they do as little 
work as they can. All Christian countries keep 
this holy season, and, whatever their different 
manners, they celebrate it with reverence and 
joy. 

There is a very pretty custom among the 
farmers and others. On Christmas morning 
the farm- wife carries bread from the granary to 
give among the poor; while the farmer places 
a sheaf of corn on a pole for the birds. The 
pole is sunk in the snow-covered ground, and 
left for the cold and hungry winged creatures, 
and you may be sure they enjoy their Christmas 
cheer as much as the young people. 

The children have many games which are 
much like ours, and these they play indoors 
at Christmas-tide. They sing strange nursery 
rhymes while they play, and our little folk may 
just fancy them in their very cold northern 
homes, swaying to and fro, and singing pretty 
songs like the following, which is a translation : 


48 


CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


A LULLABY. 

A Magpie sat on the frosty shed, 

Shrieking in spiteful glee : 

“If baby’s not good to-day,” it said, 

“She shall taste of the birchen-tree.”* 

“Oh, naughty Magpie,” baby replied, 

“Pray sing not so of me, 

For I have been good and have not cried, 

So need not the birchen-tree.” 

Baby shall have a wagon of gold, 

And in it she oft shall ride ; 

A little whip in her hand shall hold, 

And crack it on every side. 

Of cows and calves she has quite a store, 

And of fowls and ducks and pigs ; 

Of serving men and maids a score, 

With cats and dogs, merry as grigs. 

Here is another child song : 

Mother’s own little crow 
Out for a ride would go, 

But found no one to drive her : 

This way, that way, the carriage would pitch, 

Backwards, forwards, and down in the ditch. t 

The next best holiday to Christmas is 
Fastilevn, which comes on the first Monday in 
Lent. On this day the children are allowed 
to do whatever they please ; the rest of the year 
their parents can be as strict as they wish to 
be. Now the little ones eat all the cakes, buns, 

* This must mean the “rod in pickle,” kept for naughty children. 

f This is sung by nurses to their charges, with appropriate action, and 
when “down in the ditch” comes, baby is tumbled over and tickled. 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


49 


and sweets they like and do anything else which 
is forbidden them at other times. I am sure 
you cannot guess what a strange custom the 
children have for that day. They all whip their 
mothers. Of course, it is all in fun. They take 
long twigs and fasten many colored ribbons and 
tissue paper around them. The first thing in 
the morning the children, laughing all the time, 
apply these fancy switches, following their 
mother about until the last piece of paper is 
gone from each switch. Fastilevn, with its old 
custom, is supposed to make up for all the whip- 
pings the children receive throughout the rest 
of the year. Denmark, which is south of Swe- 
den and Norway, is inhabited by the same race 
of people and is much the same in its customs. 
But it has some ways of its own also, of which 
we may speak. 

When we go into a Danish middle-class house 
we find everything neat, and tidy, and clean. 
The drawing-room is like our own at home. 
It has pictures, a few albums, books and neat 
furniture, but there is no carpet. We do not 
remember any carpets in the Danish house we 
visited. In the next room to the reception-room 
was a study, and here five young ladies (sisters) 
were being taught by their governess. Even 
the youngest could speak and understand 
English, Danish, and French, for the Danes, 
like the Russians, can speak many languages. 

In a Danish family the children have the 4 ‘ run 


4 


50 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


of the house/ ’ The mother is almost the slave 
of her children. She educates them, and assists 
the older ones. She looks after the house and 
arranges everything connected with the chil- 
dren’s schooling and dress. In Denmark there 
is generally no nursery. 

Baby may perhaps be carried by nurse, but 
after a while she goes and then the mother has 
all the care of her children. They are taught 
manners, and their games are watched over by 
“mamma” and “papa,” for baby sleeps in her 
parents’ room. So the Danish child grows up 
directly under her parents’ eyes at meals and 
at all other times of the day. 

When our little Dane is about six years old 
he goes to school; girls and boys are both 
taught early to read, write and cipher. Then 
the higher school is sought, and the children 
trot off before nine o’clock, to remain till three 
or four o ’clock at school, so you see there is not 
much time allowed for games, though no doubt 
the Danish boy and girl have their sports and 
fun like children everywhere. 

When they leave school the boys go into 
business, and perhaps assist their father in his 
work; the girls stay at home until some young 
men come to make them their wives and carry 
them away to homes of their own, where they 
can put in practice the lessons they have 
learned, and profit by the good example they 
have had from their parents. 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


51 


Denmark is rick in stories and legends of 
‘ 1 trolls/ ’ or fairies, which come np mysteri- 
ously and do all kinds of funny things. Then 
we hear of “nisses,” or sprites, and every good 
Danish farm-wife will put out some porridge 
or other food for the nisses. 

These sprites, as well as the “ trolls,’ ’ are 
sometimes full of mischief, and will not — accord- 
ing to common belief — let butter be churned 
when they have not been well treated. 

The Danes are very careful about their 
bread; they look upon it as God’s gift. An old 
legend is related of a girl who was carrying 
some loaves one day, and coming to a muddy 
place, she could not cross without dirtying her 
fine shoes, so she put the loaves in the mud and 
walked across it. 

But what do you think happened to her? 
She had hardly stepped upon the loaves when 
they began to sink; and they sank, and sank, 
down, down to the very bottom of the mire; 
and the girl, it is said, was swallowed up, 
because she was so wicked and trod upon the 
bread. 

In the spring in Denmark the girls go out 
and listen to the cuckoo. Then they kiss their 
hands to the bird, and say, ‘ ‘ Cuckoo, when shall 
I marry?” Then the polite bird answers 
“cuckoo” several times, and the number of 
times he cries “ cuckoo ’ ’ indicates the number of 
years that will pass before the girl will be 
married. So they say! 


52 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


When you pass through Jutland, one of the 
Danish Isles, you will see, as we did, the storks 
in the chimneys of the farm-houses. The birds 
are supposed to bring “luck” to the home. 

At Christmas time, according to a belief in 
Denmark, all the cattle sit up in their stalls. 
At twelve o’clock on Christmas Eve the cows 
rise up to “salute the happy morn,” and pay 
respects to Christmas day. Then cows and all 
the animals on the farm are well fed; and if 
they do not have turkey or roast goose, beef 
and plum pudding they get enough, and the 
dear old dog in the yard has bread given him 
as a great treat. He is then let loose, for he 
will not bite anyone on Christmas day, which 
is kept as a universal feast-day, as with us. 

In Copenhagen we find a game called Mon- 
tagne Russ, or Russ-bahn. This consists of 
two wooden towers. Between these towers two 
railway lines are laid, not regularly curving, 
hut with a great wave in the middle. The 
truck which runs on this “Russian Railway” is 
furnished with an arm-chair in which there is 
room for two. The lads and lasses seat them- 
selves, and take care to hold tight. The truck 
is pushed over the brink of the slope and down 
it darts at a tremendous pace ; then up and down 
the curved wave of line in the center, and in 
half a moment it rushes up the opposite and 
final slope to the other tower, where the pas- 
sengers alight. If they want to return they 


SWEDEN AND DENMARK 


53 


must go by the other line, which runs alongside. 

The idea of the scenic railways in our amuse- 
ment parks came from these slides in Copen- 
hagen. 

The Danish child is, perhaps, hard worked, 
but he is never poor. His parents must have 
him educated up to fourteen, and then he must 
go to work and help them. The girls keep little 
pots of flowers in the windows of the farm- 
houses, and very pretty they look. The Danes 
are well educated and have much self-respect. 
They make good use of their time when they 
are young, and get the advantage of this in 
their old age. 

Let us now, for a variety, make a quick 
change to the other side of the world and see 
what the little Chinese boys and girls are like, 
before continuing our journey through eastern 
Europe. 


Chapter V. 

CHINA. 

W HEN we come to China we find a people 
full of foolish fancies about ghosts and 
demons and witches and the like. 
Much care is taken to save the little ones from 
these evil beings. When little babies are only 
three days old they are solemnly washed, and 
often have their wrists lied up with a red 
cotton cord, and to this a charm is attached in 
order to keep off evil spirits from the baby. 
The head is shaved when the child is a month 
old, the hairdresser then having to wear red, 
this being considered a 4 ‘ lucky’ ’ color. Pre- 
sents of cakes and other things are sent to the 
baby, and when it is four months old there is a 
ceremony to thank “Mother,” the patron god- 
dess of Chinese children, for sending the little 
child, and to pray to her to make it good, pros- 
perous and happy. 

Ming or some other child name, is given to 
little boy babies, in addition to their surnames ; 
but although they must always call themselves 
by this name, after they are twenty they must 
never be addressed by it, but by the tsa or 
manly name, which is bestowed upon them at 
that age. Boys at school also have some name 

( 54 ) 


CHINA 


55 


by which their schoolmasters and schoolfellows 
call them. This is much like hoys at our schools, 
who are apt to have their nicknames. 

Instead of having a baby name given to them, 
girls are called No. 1, No. 2, and so on, as if they 
were not worth a name of their own. 

Boys are thought much more of in China than 
their sisters, because they can earn more money 
when they grow up, and help to support their 
parents. They can also worship their ances- 
tors, it is thought, with more effect. 

A dreadful practice exists in China of putting 
little girls to death when there are too many in 
a family. The father does this terrible thing*, 
but the Chinese do not look upon it as wrong, 
for they care little for their girls. Where an 
American parent would say he had two chil- 
dren, a girl and a boy, a Chinese would 
say, “only one child,” as if the girl was not 
worth speaking of. 

When a baby is four months old he learns, 
for the first time, to sit in a chair, and then his 
mother’s mother has to send him, besides a 
great many other presents, some soft sugar- 
candy, which is made to stick to the chair upon 
which the baby is seated. 

The first birthday is a great day of rejoicing, 
when once more a thank-offering is presented 
to “Mother,” and the baby is put upon the 
table in front of a number of things, such as ink, 
books, gold or tools, and the one he first touches 


56 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


is to decide what is to be his future employment. 
As soon as he is old enough, the little child is 
taught to worship his patron goddess, and 
other gods and goddesses, of which the Chinese 
have a great many. 

Very much is thought of education in China, 
and if a poor boy shows himself a good scholar 
and passes a hard examination he can fill as 
high a position as though he were a boy of 
rank. All boys, especially in the south of 
China, are expected to go to school, but besides 
the schools of the Missionaries or Christian 
teachers, there are not very many for girls. 

A tutor has not only to teach boys how to 
read and to write, but as politeness forms the 
basis of Chinese education, the many ceremo- 
nies used in public and private life have to be 
learnt at school. 

Like the boys of Japan, the young Chinese 
learn their lessons out loud, and sometimes 
make a great clatter in the schoolroom while 
doing so. But boys may not talk together in 
school, and to prevent their doing this the desks 
are set at a distance apart. 

When a lesson is known the boy takes his 
book to the master, bows, turns his back, and 
repeats it. This is called pey-chou, or “backing 
the book,” and is to prevent the boy from 
reading the lesson, which the large characters 
would make it very easy for him to do. 

The way that the Chinese are taught is on a 



A Chinese Kindergarten 








CHINA 


57 


very different system from our own. They 
learn by hjart first and then have explained to 
them the meaning of what they have learnt. 
Their first lesson is on filial piety, or the honor 
due to parents, and throughout life the Chinese 
boy, and girl, and man, and woman are noted 
for their love for their parents. This we find 
in all parts of China and Japan, and a lovely 
virtue it is, one which ought to be taught more in 
our own country. 

They study a sacred book which tells them 
about the nature of man, modes of education, 
social duties, and many other things. Next 
come the four classical, and then the five sacred 
books; so when Chinese boys go to school they 
have plenty to study, though most of it is of 
very little value for their lives. They become 
so proud of their learning that they do not 
think there is anything left for them to learn 
from other nations. 

At the mission school for girls the children 
are taught to read and write in the morning, 
and in the afternoon to make their own clothes. 
A Chinese girl’s dress consists of a long loose 
jacket, and a pair of loose trousers, both made 
of bright colors. They also make their own 
shoes, which are beautifully embroidered. All 
little girls wear shoes, which they have to 
remove before they go into a room. Most of 
the better class of girls have very small feet, 
made so by being cruelly bandaged when of 
tender age. 


58 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The Chinese have two principal meals in the 
day, the one in the morning, the other in the 
evening, and a few cakes and some tea between 
morning and afternoon school, a pot of the tea 
being kept in the mission schools. They eat 
with “chopsticks.” 

Battledore and shuttlecock is a very common 
game amongst Chinese boys and girls, which 
they play sometimes in circles, often using their 
elbows and feet instead of battledores. Unlike 
their little neighbors in Japan, we do not think 
that Chinese girls care for dolls; but they are 
fond of playing at a round game similar to our 
‘ ‘mulberry-bush. ’ 9 

They also skip; the boys play at horses, and 
fly the wonderful kites for which the Chinese 
are famous, and which their fathers and grand- 
fathers often fly with them. These kites are 
of curious shapes, fashioned like birds of 
various kinds. A great many peep-shows are 
about the streets, which delight the children 
very much. 

Their homes have generally no second floor. 
The Chinese in their superstition think it 
“unlucky” to live high above the ground; but 
some houses in the cities have two stories. 
The better dwellings all have stone walls around 
them. In their rooms are very pretty cabinets 
and screens, and also many ornaments and fans. 
Silk or satin curtains hang on the walls, on 
which good advice is written, and pretty lan- 


CHINA 


59 


terns are hung from the ceilings. Many 
houses have beautiful gardens and large veran- 
dahs; even the poor people love and carefully 
tend their good-sized pieces of ground. 

One curious trait of the Chinese we must 
mention ; that is, the pride he takes in his coffin. 
No family is satisfied without it, and it is 
always in the house. The poorest coolie saves 
his money to buy his coffin, and coffin-making 
is a busy trade. The family funeral is a sea- 
son of great feasting. In fact, it almost seems 
that a man there is of more importance dead 
than alive. 

Mothers in China frequently carry their chil- 
dren on their backs, but few women are met 
on the streets, which are very quiet, as no 
wheeled carriages drawn by horses are to be 
found, and no clattering street cars, except in 
one or two of the largest cities. 

The Chinese, as you may know, do most 
things in the opposite way to which we do 
them. Their mourning is white, not black, as 
with us; they turn their relatives out of doors 
to die; no one will have in the house a person 
who is ill if he can help it. A Chinese will 
shake his own hand instead of his guest’s; he 
will put his hat on to salute you as we take 
the hat off ! They write up and down the page ; 
we write across it. Their chamber “ maids” 
are all men, so are their washer “ women,” as an 
Irishman may say; and their river boat “men” 
are women and girls. 


60 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


These boat-girls are pretty. They wear no 
shoes or stockings, but their feet and ankles 
are beautiful. They learn to manage boats 
when babies, and in these whole families live 
and die. “The water-baby, ’ ’ says an observer, 
“opens its eyes upon the sampen (boat), passes 
its watery youth there, is damply married there, 
and not infrequently goes to a watery grave. 
For all that water does not appear to hurt 
the children, for they are on it and in it con- 
tinually, and are not often drowned.’ ’ 

These people seldom go on land. They live 
in boats on the Canton river and other waters, 
sometimes at anchor or moored in the same 
spot all their lives. Their shops are floating 
like themselves, and the boats may have been 
dwelt in by generations. The boat-girls carry 
passengers and merchandise, and are lovely, 
bright girls, with short hair in front on the 
forehead, though it is knotted at the back under 
the wide hat. In Canton alone a million of 
people live on the water. 

In the matter of obedience, of which we have 
already spoken, the Chinese child is very 
strictly brought up. While he lives, a son must 
obey his parents; he does not become “his 
own master,” but is subject to his parents in 
all things. The girl, after marriage, is ruled 
by her husband and his parents. After her 
husband’s death she must obey her son when 
he arrives at mature age. So we see that the 


CHINA 


61 


Chinese children have not nearly so much lib- 
erty as have yon Western boys and girls. 

Yon have, many of yon, heard the old song 
beginning — 

“Cliing-a-ring-a-ring-ting, Feast of Lanterns, 

What a lot of chopsticks, prongs, and gongs.” 

iWell, at the eve of the New Year, which is 
on the 8th of February of our reckoning, the 
Chinese hang out beautifully-decorated lan- 
terns from their doors and balconies ; and 
when midnight comes, fireworks are let off, 
drums are beaten, music of the usual “ching- 
ching” style is played, so as to drive away evil 
spirits. For the same purpose the houses on 
these occasions are decorated with red cloth, 
and children’s hair is tied up with red silk, so 
as to prevent any evil coming upon the houses 
or the children who live in them. At the end 
of the year all accounts are settled, new clothes 
are purchased, presents are given — a gift of 
a pair of shoes for the New Year is a favorite 
and welcome present — and the Chinese wish 
each other “A Happy New Year” in crabbed 
characters, like the wanderings of a fly which 
has been dipped in the ink-bottle and put on 
the paper to dry! 

The Chinese count their years by “moons,” 
and the years sometimes contain twelve moons, 
sometimes thirteen. Some years have an extra 
moon put in, just as we add a day in February 


62 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


in leap-year, though not so regularly. In 
Chinese language, the month and moon are 
expressed by the same character or word. 
Thus, the day of the month is actually the 
same as the age of the moon in days. 

We may pretend to look upon the Chinese as 
‘ ‘behind the age,” but in some things they have 
been ahead of our “old world” civilization. 
They were acquainted with the compass long- 
before Europeans, and also with the art of 
printing. As an example of their progress, 
we may quote something we read a while ago : 

An Englishman had spoken to a Chinese 
mandarin about the folly of using chopsticks to 
eat with, and the mandarin answered, ‘ 4 In 
remote ages, before we became civilized, we 
used knives and forks as you do, and had no 
chopsticks. We still carry a knife in our chop- 
stick-case, but it is a mere remnant of bar- 
barism. We never use it. We sit down to 
table to eat, not to cut up carcasses ! ’ ’ 

Perhaps the mandarin had the better of the 
argument after all! 


Chapter VI. 


HOLLAND AND BELGIUM. 

R OSY-CHEEKED, round-faced, fair-haired 
children of Holland, we hardly know 
whether to introduce the boys and girls 
of our own country to you in the winter or the 
summer. The spring and autumn we shall 
avoid, for then a great part of your kingdom 
is like a large lake or sea, dotted with little 
patches of marshy land, each of them just large 
enough to hold a windmill, a willow-tree, and 
a forlorn-looking cottage, or a mound or two to 
which you can fly for safety in the event of a 
flood. 

This is not cheerful-looking, and we should 
like our readers to see you at your best — in the 
summer-time, perhaps, when you are sailing 
your tiny boats on the canals, or ponds, or 
lakes; or when you are playing before your 
clean, red-tiled green or blue-shuttered cot- 
tages; or are wandering in the green meadows 
among the sleek black-and-white cattle; or are 
assembling on the little pier of your native 
village to wash your pans, and jars, and dishes, 
and baskets, and await the arrival of the boats 
that bring you in stores of fish ; or are sailing 
( 63 ) 


64 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


down the rivers on the rafts which have been 
your homes from your birth. In winter, too, 
they would, we think, sometimes envy you when 
all your ponds and lakes and canals are covered 
with thick ice, and you put on your skates and 
skim swiftly along like so many water-birds; 
for, compared to yourselves, American girls 
and boys, who are so fond of sliding and skat- 
ing, get so little of these amusements. 

What fine fun to skate to school and back, to 
skate to market for apples and nuts, to skate 
in companies — consisting of five or six rows, 
with five or six boys and girls in each row, 
all taking hands — to skate to a neighboring 
village or town — to have skating-matches, skat- 
ing-games, skating-clubs ! 

Yes! decidedly, Holland must be visited in 
the winter, and the “Vyver” — the beautiful 
pond or lake in the center of the Hague, the 
wealthiest town in Holland — which we thought 
so lovely in summer, when majestic swans were 
sailing on it, and many-colored ducks and other 
water-fowl were swimming about, is still love- 
lier when the trees around are heavy with 
sparkling snow, and long icicles are hanging 
from rock and grotto, and Court ladies in 
velvet and furs, and Court gentlemen, and the 
children of wealthy citizens, and simple school- 
boys and school-girls are all amusing them- 
selves together on its polished surface. But 
before we begin to speak of girls and boys who 


HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 


65 


are old enough to skate, we must tell you some- 
thing about the very young children and the 
babies of Holland, and especially of a strange 
and pretty custom observed throughout the 
country. 

When the children of a family are told that 
they have a new brother or sister, they are not 
always willing to welcome it as they should. 
The youngest especially, who has been “baby” 
hitherto, feels rather hurt and considers the 
newcomer in the light of one who deserves to 
be pinched rather than kissed. Now, the good 
parents of Holland, who are very fond of their 
children, and try to spare them all unnecessary 
pain, have hit upon an excellent plan to make 
baby welcome. As he lies in his cradle, which is 
like the American one, they fill his little arms 
with trumpet-shaped bags brimful of little 
sweetmeats, and these are divided among the 
children as baby’s presents. Baby continues to 
give these tiny bits of candy — which the children 
eat on bread and butter and are very fond of — 
for the space of six weeks, by which time all his 
brothers and sisters are very glad to have him 
among them. 

Babies are dressed very much as in America, 
except that, in some cases, a queer old custom 
is held to of wrapping up their heads in three 
caps — one of cambric, another of silk, and a 
third of lace. 

The christening always takes place on a Sun- 


5 


66 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


day, and after the christening there is a grand 
dinner, to which all the relatives are invited. 

Birthdays are always celebrated in Holland 
and Belgium. Visits of well-wishing are paid, 
presents and bouquets given, and if it be the 
birthday of father or mother, one of the chil- 
dren recites a piece of poetry, a copy of which, 
written on an ornamented piece of paper, is 
presented to the parents to keep. 

As a rule, children dine with the parents, but 
they are never allowed to use a knife. They 
take the fork in their right hand, and are taught 
to rest the left hand on the table by the side 
of the plate. 

If we would not be thought impolite we must 
always say 4 4 How do you do ’ ’ to those we meet, 
even to the clerks in the stores, and the boys 
must tip their hats and say 44 Good-bye’ ’ upon 
leaving. 

What are the homes of the children of Hol- 
land and Belgium like? We shall describe a 
few. The wealthy inhabitants of The Hague 
live in villas, mansions, or palaces, where all 
the luxuries and splendors of the East are col- 
lected. They hold so-called Indian festivals, 
when houses and gardens are brightly lit up, 
when rich draperies cover walls and windows, 
when gold and silver plate is spread out on 
table and sideboard, when all the guests appear 
in splendid dresses and wear diamonds and 
pearls, and when great vases are filled with 
lovely flowers. 


HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 


67 


A very different home has the raftsman, and 
yet I doubt if it has not more charms for chil- 
dren than the wealthy mansion. The raftsman 
lives on his raft with wife and children. The 
raft is composed of trunks of trees laid side by 
side, and bound together. On these, planks are 
laid and a pretty cottage of two stories is built, 
containing sitting-room and bed-rooms ; the 
windows are curtained, the shutters are gaily 
painted ; there are even balconies round the cot- 
tage, full of plants and bright flowers. The 
raftsman’s trade is to buy pots and kettles in 
Germany, and sell them in his own country. 
His children spend all their early life on these 
rafts, and pleasant it must be, as they float 
down the many canals through the prettily- 
wooded districts in Belgium or even in flat Hol- 
land, where there is always something of inter- 
est for them — the storks they love so well, the 
delicate heron, the water-fowl and the sea-birds 
that fly in flocks far inland to take baths in the 
lakes as a change from their wild ocean life. 

Then there is the usual home of the Dutch 
peasant boy and girl. The kitchen is the prin- 
cipal room, and very comfortable it looks, with 
its red brick floor, strewn with fresh red sand, 
its brick hearth, its tiled walls, polished chairs 
and tables, and copper kettles and sauce pans, 
as bright as scrubbing can make them. 

The Dutch are very clean, and are obliged to 
be so, for, in their damp country, if they were 


68 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


not constantly rubbing and polishing, rust and 
mould would soon spoil their houses, their fur- 
niture, and all their cooking utensils. The 
cleanest village in the world is said to be Brook 
or Brock. There, as in all Holland, it is dan- 
gerous to walk in the streets on Saturday with- 
out an umbrella and thick clogs, however fine 
the day may be ; for water is being squirted on 
the front of each house, and bucketfuls are 
being poured out of each window, or are being 
dashed on steps and pavement ; and the dairies 
and cow-houses, which are frequently part of 
the dwelling-houses, are being thoroughly 
cleaned, though they were as clean as a new pin 
before, and the greatest care will scarcely keep 
one from a drenching. We have to pity the 
children of this village, for they are never 
allowed to come to the front of the house, for 
fear of soiling the steps or taking the polish off 
the railings, and their lives must be one unend- 
ing washing-day. But very likely they have 
their sports. 

As in Spain children play at bull-fighting, 
so in Holland you see the little ones with small 
sticks pounding away at pieces of carpet, or 
washing their doll-houses as thoroughly as their 
mothers keep their homes so clean and tidy. 

As we have said above, parts of some houses 
are reserved for the cows. Each stall has a 
glass window, in front of which hangs a per- 
fectly white lace curtain. The floor is covered 


HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 


69 


with oil-cloth and the hay is kept in the middle 
of the house. 

Perhaps the strangest homes for children are 
to be found in the little village of Gheel, in 
Belgium, called the Craze Colony, so called 
from a legend. A certain Princess Dymphna, 
good and pious, was persecuted by her wicked 
relatives, and slain in this little corner of Bel- 
gium. In due time Princess Dymphna was made 
a saint and the sick and the unfortunate flocked 
to the little chapel where she used to worship. 
Some insane people who were among the num- 
ber recovered their reason. Since that time 
each of the poor weavers who make up the vil- 
lage, has permission to receive into his family 
one lunatic. Being constantly with the children, 
playing with them, and working with them at 
the easy tasks allotted them, but, above all, 
being kindly and familiarly treated by the 
family, these unfortunates, almost all of whom 
are gentle, soon recover. A touching tale is told 
of a German insane man who had lost his reason 
from suddenly losing his money and becoming 
poor. His host at Gheel died, and the family 
were left in great distress. The insane man saw 
and understood the cause of the trouble in the 
household. Thinking on the matter seemed to 
restore his reason; and the result was that he 
calmly and quietly took the charge of the family 
on himself, worked for them, and supported 
them. 


70 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


In a country which has had so many artists, 
art is of course thought much of. In many 
schools the children are allowed to draw pic- 
tures on their slates for one hour every day, 
and if a child shows any talent he generally finds 
some one to help him on, or he works his way to 
fame by his own efforts. The dress of the 
Dutch and Belgian boys and girls is sometimes 
very quaint and pretty. The girls wear gaily- 
embroidered bodices, red skirts, and buckled 
shoes, necklaces, and other ornaments. When 
they grow older they wear a kind of gold or 
silver helmet, a lace cap on the top of that, and 
sometimes a bonnet besides. The boys and men 
wear wide, baggy trousers, reaching to the knee, 
black worsted stockings, buckled shoes, jackets 
trimmed with large coins, many of them of gold 
and silver, and small felt caps. 

Some of the children’s amusements are much 
the same as in our own country. One of the 
favorite games, for instance, especially of the 
poorer children, is very similar to the American 
“ Jacks,” only they call it 4 4 Knuckle bones.” 

On the Sunday before Whitsuntide the chil- 
dren rise very early, and the one who is dressed 
first goes to the different bed-room doors, 
knocks, and says or sings : 

Lazy Loon, 

Sleepy head, 

Lie a bed, 

From morn till noon. 


HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 


71 


The last to rise in the house, generally the 
father or mother, is expected to give every mem- 
ber of the household a special kind of hot bun, 
which is always prepared in readiness. 

Easter is celebrated by giving eggs; but the 
festival that all, more especially in Belgium, 
delight in the most, is that of Santa Claus, or 
St. Nicholas, the special patron saint of the 
children. 

Santa Claus sends his presents done up in 
wonderful disguises, or hidden in cabbages, 
turnips or pumpkins ; or perhaps he will appear 
in person. Then he is laden with toys of all 
descriptions. While the children are gazing 
attentively at the toys and Santa Claus, papa 
in the background manages unseen to throw 
bonbons into the air, which fall among the chil- 
dren, and are supposed by them to descend from 
the skies. 

Now and then, when the children are growing 
too old and too wise to believe without doubt in 
Santa Claus, the parents or elder brothers and 
sisters adopt means to revive their faith. 

They dress the coachman or gardener in a 
white fur cloak, and place him on a white pony. 
They give him a long flaxen beard and wig, and 
place a huge bishop’s mitre on his head; and 
an immense gilt cross on his breast. Then they 
fill his arms with presents, and tell him to gallop 
round the house. 

The dogs begin to bark ; the children rush to 
the windows and peep. 


72 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


Well! after all, Santa Clans is Santa Claus, 
for there he is, plainly to be seen in the moon- 
light, and, best of all, not empty-handed. 
Hurrah! for the presents, let them come from 
whom they will. The children are brave enough 
to go and receive their presents from Santa 
Claus himself, who bends gravely from the pony, 
and delivers them in silent dignity, but they do 
not trust themselves to stay near him too long. 
Back they go, to enter the enchanted room, to 
pick up the little figure of man or woman who 
stands on the door-mat with suspiciously bulged- 
out pockets, to search these pockets and the 
wide boots, to dive into the crowns of the hats 
and bonnets, or carefully to examine the many 
other hiding places for Santa Claus’ gifts. 


Chapter VII. 

FRANCE. 

L ET ns now take the train for Paris. What 
funny trains we do find in Europe. They 
are not at all like ours. 'Their carriages, 
as the cars are called, are of three kinds, first, 
second, and third-class, and each car is divided 
into little rooms which hold six, eight or ten 
persons. A door and two small windows are in 
each end of a compartment. The first and sec- 
ond classes have cushioned seats, but there are 
only wooden benches in the third. 

It would seem that travelers, especially those 
in the third class, find that the trains make them 
hungry. They love to picnic and very often we 
see them opening their lunch baskets and bring- 
ing out nice sandwiches and oranges; and the 
time passes quickly until they reach their jour- 
ney’s end. 

Now that we are in France, we must be care- 
ful to speak French and be very polite. Let us 
look around. 

Everywhere we see soldiers and men in uni- 
forms, and we wonder why everything looks so 
warlike. But that is their way in Europe, and 
we must say that all the many colors, the shin- 
ing helmets and glittering swords look very 

( 73 ) 


74 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


pretty in the sunlight and do much to brighten 
up the street scenes. 

All nations have their special traits not only 
in language, but also in character, dress, educa- 
tion, amusements, and in religion. These differ- 
ences are seen even in infancy; so child-life in 
France and elsewhere has its distinctions both 
in the prince and the peasant. 

The baby and the nurse of a grand Parisian 
lady form a sight worth seeing. The nurse 
usually comes from Burgundy, and is a black- 
eyed, high-colored, round-faced woman, very 
picturesquely dressed. She wears neither bon- 
net nor hat, but a cap with a full border, hav- 
ing around it a puffing of handsome ribbon, the 
ends of which are so long that they sometimes 
reach to the bottom of her skirt ; so that one is 
inclined to think the rank of the mistress is 
shown by the length of the ribbon-tails at the 
back of the servant’s head. 

Beneath these flowing ribbons is a long, round 
cloak, generally of the same color, which serves 
to shelter the infant. The cherry-color cloak 
and ribbons contrast prettily with the baby’s 
white dress. 

Education does not greatly differ from that 
in England, and is sometimes acquired at home, 
sometimes at school. Boys go early to the col- 
leges, which are numerous, and in some of 
which the pupils wear a uniform. This resem- 
bles the dress of an American telegraph-boy, 


FRANCE 


75 


and is generally of dark blue with brass buttons, 
and has a red stripe down the side of the 
trousers. The cap is like a midshipman’s. But 
each college has something in the costume to 
distinguish it from its fellows. The pupils have 
every reason to be good students, and it is, 
indeed, hard for them to be idle, because their 
tutors and governors are constantly with them 
at work, at play and even while asleep. 
Rewards are offered for every new thing 
learned and the best students have hopes of 
being given a badge of honor. This is sought 
by young and old alike, and boys have some- 
times ribbons on their breasts, of which they 
are very proud. Perhaps this helps to make 
them little men before their time, for they are 
always very polite, and behave as well as their 
elders. It is their custom, and that of all 
French people, to ask and reply to questions 
with the addition of Monsieur, Madame, or 
Mademoiselle, which renders their conversation 
far less abrupt than ours. 

Although the French are very lively and talk- 
ative, silence is strictly enforced during school- 
hours, and any pupil who chatters loses both 
play-time and reward. As morning school 
usually opens at eight o ’clock and continues till 
nearly twelve, these hours of silence, save for 
the purposes of instruction are hard to keep but 
are not often broken. 

Girls are educated on the same principles. 


76 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


If they go to a day-school, they enter and leave 
silently, although there may be forty, fifty, or 
even sixty pupils. When the girls begin lessons 
they put on a black sarrau, or sort of smock- 
frock, to protect their garments from the ink. 
This reaches from the chin to the bottom of the 
skirt, and keeps the dress from being soiled, but 
the rows of black robes make them look like a 
flock of crows. 

Children eat a great deal of bread and fruit, 
which they munch at all hours of the day, and 
are very fond of. The poor children stand 
about the cafes and restaurants with a piece of 
bread in their hands, which they think tastes all 
the better for the fumes that proceed from these 
places, so that they may almost be said to eat 
through their noses. 

It is customary in Paris for the principals of 
the various colleges and schools to take their 
pupils for recreation to the different large 
squares and gardens. Here they enjoy their 
various sports. Skipping with a rope is much 
in favor amongst the girls; hoops, balls, and 
battledore and shuttlecock are much liked. 
They are also very fond of blind man’s buff, 
and there is a pretty game which is played by 
children throwing hoops by means of two long 
sticks, from one to another, and catching them 
on two other sticks. It is very graceful. But 
perhaps the most popular game, and the one 
most generally seen throughout France, is 


FRANCE 


77 


“Diabolo,” a game which yon have probably 
seen played and at which they are very skilful. 

French children have many holidays. Thurs- 
day is the general one in all the schools. But 
they love New Year’s day the best, because that 
is a universal day of festival. Everybody visits 
everybody to give good wishes, and “ kisses on 
both cheeks,” as is the French custom. Pre- 
sents seem to fall from the skies, and poor 
indeed must be the child who has not one. On 
this day the boulevards, or streets edged with 
trees, are full of people, old and young, and 
everyone seems in good humor. The Zoological 
Gardens are full, for here the children never 
tire of the animals, and love to watch the big 
ostrich pull the little carriage full of small 
youngsters. Truly it is a gala-day. 

So, too, is Paques, or Easter, with its shops 
full of Easter eggs, made of chocolate, sugar, 
and what not, which contain all sorts of nice 
things and are sometimes as big as one’s head. 
Dolls in full dress, and elegant gifts of every 
sort come out of them. But they are scarcely 
as curious as the poissons d’Avril, or April fish. 
Instead of making “ fools” on the 1st of April, 
they make presents in France and call them 
“ April fish.” Fish of every kind and size are 
manufactured, chiefly of papier mache, and filled 
with all sorts of funny articles. A pink salmon, 
a silver trout, a gigantic crocodile will even 
attract the children, and cause them a great deal 
of amusement. 


78 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


In one way, the French girls are very for- 
tunate. Their mothers train them from the 
beginning to please their future husbands, teach 
them how to take care of a home of their own 
and to make a success of this chief end in their 
lives. 

The young ladies are very particular about 
their dresses, and would rather spoil their 
games than their flounces. 

They, like the hoys, have very elegant man- 
ners, and are full of life and ready wit. 

No French child is allowed to sit at the family 
table until he or she can behave and eat in a 
perfectly polite manner. It is bad manners 
there, no matter what your age, to leave uneaten 
a single morsel that you have allowed to be 
put on your plate. They think that this would 
imply that the food is not so good as it looked. 
All French children, even of the poorest classes, 
are neat and clean and tidy almost beyond 
that of any other country. Though they may 
not have the pluck and fool-hardiness of our 
own children, they can teach us much of 
courtesy and politeness which makes life easier 
to live. “What perfume is to flowers, good 
breeding .and gentle behavior are to children.” 
By being taught from their cradles and acting 
in a polite and thoughtful manner, they grad- 
ually become gentle and courteous, which in no 
way interferes with sturdy honesty or rugged 
strength of character. 


FRANCE 


79 


Automobiling is one of the favorite pastimes 
of the French, so to see the little country chil- 
dren, off we go at a rate that almost takes our 
breath away. We see no fences or bridges for 
miles. 

A baby has just been born in a town we pass 
through, the town doctor is hurrying to be sure 
that the child’s sex has not been wrongly stated 
to him. A few hours later, the father calls at 
the Mayor’s office, and, with at least two wit- 
nesses present, fills out a most important paper 
— the certificate of baby’s birth and names. All 
through life there will be little he can do without 
it. He must show it when he wishes to marry, 
when he enters school, the church or the army, 
nor can he be buried without it. 

Before he can walk, even, he has learned to 
drink cider. The French children are great 
cider drinkers. It is a sour, bitter stuff, unlike 
our own, but apparently wholesome, for they 
can thrive upon it and hard work, and work they 
must as soon as they can walk. 

They rise very early all their lives and are 
earnest, industrious children. They know noth- 
ing, as a rule, of the rest of the world, but they 
do know every flower that grows on their 
father’s farm, every bee that hums about them, 
every bird that flies past, or nests in the bran- 
ches of the trees. What they cannot see 
does not interest them. They believe some of 
the funniest things. They are all sure that 


80 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


soup made of melted candles and red wine will 
cure a cold. They all know a prayer that will 
cure measles, a prayer that will wipe off 
freckles, a prayer that will set a broken leg, a 
prayer that will sweeten a sour temper. These 
prayers will be devoutly repeated when the 
occasion arrives. They have forms of prayer 
to drive devils and foul spirits away or to cure 
an earache. We cannot help smiling at all this 
foolishness, but then we remember that they 
have never been taught to know better. 

As we pass through the country towns, we see 
that every village has its large open square, 
where nearly all the marketing is done out in 
the open air rather than in shops. Everything 
is sold here. Old clothes, iron locks, crockery, 
jewelry, furniture, geese, ducks, chickens, horses 
and cows, and all else that there is to be sold. 
Big umbrellas are stuck up to keep off sun and 
rain and it looks like a field of immense mush- 
rooms. 

Every village has its patron saint, and in his 
honor every year a fete day is celebrated which 
visitors from far and near come to attend. Pre- 
parations are made for weeks beforehand, but 
the greatest attraction for the children is the 
fair. These fairs, as the French call them, 
move about the country in wagons like an old- 
fashioned circus, always arriving at a town for 
some special occasion. The owners live much 
like gypsies, selling all sorts of things, giving 


FRANCE 


81 


little plays, or doing tricks of strength. There 
are merry-go-rounds and shooting galleries. 
Boys try their skill throwing balls into the 
month of a painted figure and win, if they can 
do it, a wonderful knife that contains every- 
thing from a corkscrew to a file. In the evening, 
there are fireworks and a torch-light procession 
up and down the streets which are all decora- 
ated with flags, wreaths, gay streamers and 
paper lanterns. Rival bands blare at each other 
across the square and all is laughter and fun 
making. Often a regular circus will arrive at 
the same time and the fete will last over two 
or three days. The finest events are saved up 
for the last day, and the children take part in 
many games especially prepared for them. 

Between two poles are hung a dozen or more 
buckets filled with water, all except one in which, 
there is a new five-franc piece. To each bucket 
is attached a string. A little boy, after he is 
blind-folded, is turned around a few times, and 
then he starts toward the line of strings, hop- 
ing to pull the one of the buckets holding the 
five-franc piece. It is hard to do, and many 
times down comes a pail full of water on his 
head while the watching crowd laugh and jeer 
to their hearts’ content. The boy who finally 
succeeds is the hero of the occasion. 

Another “ stunt,’ ’ as we would say, is to 
extend a pole out over a pond or river. 
Fastened at regular spaces and pointed down- 
6 


82 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


ward, are wooden pegs well greased. You can 
imagine liow hard it is to swing from one to 
another of these pegs, out to the end where a 
bag of money is fastened. Many who try slip 
into the water to the intense amusement of the 
bystanders. Then there are diving and swim- 
ming matches and so the fun goes on until at 
last the tents are folded away, the wagons drive 
slowly off, but the memory of those happy days 
lives all through the following months while they 
plan for the one ‘ 6 next year. ’ ’ 

Now that we are traveling in an automobile, 
let us run over into the neighboring country of 
Germany and see what our little cousins there 
are like. 


Chapter VIII. 

GERMANY. 

I N our account of child-life in Germany, as 
in other lands, it is best to begin at the 
beginning, and the beginning is, there and 
everywhere, the little baby. Fortunately, the 
German baby is a quaint and interesting little 
morsel of humanity, and is very well worthy of 
a few words about little him or her. In his own 
country he figures largely in all picture-books, 
is seen in the baker’s shop-windows at Easter- 
time in the form of cakes, with two great cur- 
rants for his eyes, and dangles in sugar from at 
least one branch of every Christmas-tree ; besides 
being imitated for a variety of other purposes. 

He is wrapped up in a long, narrow pillow, 
which is turned up at the little feet, and tucked 
under the dimpled chin. Three bands of bright 
blue ribbon are passed round this pillow in 
different places, and tied in large bows in front. 
In this state nothing of the baby is visible but 
the small round face, and that is encircled, and 
partly hidden, by a cap. 

This mode of swaddling has its advantages. 
Baby’s limbs are in no danger of being broken 
by an accidental fall; he cannot scratch hi^ 
little face to pieces with his sharp, rosy nails, 

( 83 ) 


84 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


after the manner of American babies; and he 
may be placed on a table, a shelf, or the counter 
of a shop, like a plate of soup, or a loaf of 
bread, or a parcel of goods, or anything else 
which cannot move. The other side of the 
question is this: Would not the baby prefer to 
kick his legs about in freedom, and stretch his 
arms and limbs, and would not he become all the 
stronger for the exercise? 

Besides this, there is such a thing as placing 
too great confidence in baby’s complete safety 
when strapped up in his cushion. 

A party of peasants once had to carry their 
child some distance before they came to the 
church in which it was to be christened. It 
was winter, and the snow lay thick on the 
ground. After the christening ceremony, the 
parents, the sponsors, and the friends took 
something to eat at a near-by inn, to prepare 
themselves for the return journey. 

They then set out in great good humor, and 
reached home safely with the pillow, but there 
was no baby in it. Perhaps they had by mistake 
held the pillow upside down; perhaps the blue 
bows had become loose; at any rate the baby 
had slipped out, and was found lying on the 
snow, half-way between the church and the vil- 
lage. Fortunately, he was a sturdy young 
peasant-child, and escaped with a cold in his 
head, which the fond parents tried to cure on 
reaching home by popping him, pillow and all, 


GERMANY 


85 


into the oven, that was still warm from the 
baking of the christening-cake! 

After the baby is released from his pillow- 
bondage he passes a year or two in much the 
same way as children of his tender age do in 
other countries, entering gradually into the 
wonderland of fable and poetry. The very word 
Germany suggests ruined castles, fairies, 
dwarfs, giants, witches and good and bad spir- 
its. Along the River Rhine, as in fact all 
through Germany, we constantly find ourselves 
near some old massive stone ruin. It seems 
ever ready to tell stories of long ago — “Of 
brave Knights who defended its walls, of beau- 
tiful princesses saved from harm, of sturdy 
boys and sweet-faced girls who once played in 
the gardens.” For the Germans are an ancient 
and brave people, who have often had to fight 
terrible foes. 

As to fairies, it seems as though the dark 
forest, sunny valleys, and beautiful rivers 
were the natural homes of sprites and elves, 
the water spirits and wizards. The little Ger- 
man child absorbs, as part of the very air he 
breathes, many, many of the legends of fearful 
giants and enchanted castles, of which his coun- 
try is the home. 

He does not trouble himself to doubt the 
existence of the fairies and spirits of which he 
hears, but believes in them all — Pelzmartel, 
Santa Claus, Frau Holle. He loves some of the 


86 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


inmates of this strange realm and fears others. 
But he has more real dread of the chimney- 
sweep, who, his nurse tells him, will run away 
with him if he is not a good boy^ than of any of 
the unseen inhabitants of fairyland. It is our 
cousins in Germany whom we must thank for 
most of the wonderful fairy stories that we love 
so well. 

The little German girl is early taught to help 
her mother about the house and to take her 
share cheerfully and gladly of the work that 
must be done. 

But above everything she is taught to love 
the Christ-child. 

In many parts of Germany it is customary, 
on the morning of the day before Christmas, to 
let a figure, representing the Christ-child, wave 
past the window of the room where the little 
ones sleep. Only half-awake, in the gray of 
the morning, they see this little child-figure flit 
dimly past, and go to sleep again in the 
happy knowledge that the Christ-child has not 
forgotten them, and that they will have abun- 
dance of presents round His tree in the evening. 
In Germany the presents are always distributed 
on Christmas-eve instead of on Christmas 
morning, as is the custom with some of us. 

In this manner pass the few years between 
the fairyland of fable-lore and the real life of 
home discipline. The rod has still a fixed place 
in all German households. It peers from behind 


GERMANY 


87 


the looking-glass all the year round, and is 
always adorned at Christmas with a bright new 
ribbon, which is bound round it with much 
ceremony. 

When the little ones are four years old, or 
even younger, many of them go for some hours 
in the day to the kindergarten . Everybody 
knows what the kindergarten is, but not all 
American boys and girls know that it came 
from Germany. A good man, named Frobel, 
who had the welfare of children at heart, started 
these kindergarten (children’s gardens) years 
ago and now they have spread over much of the 
world. 

Singing, of course, is not forgotten. The 
simplest words are put to the simplest melodies, 
and are sung with a will. They love singing 
from their earliest days, and it seems as 
though every boy and girl in the whole country 
takes to it as naturally as a duck takes to the 
water. They sing with a love of what they 
are singing as though the tune were a part of 
their very selves. As you know, some of the 
finest musicians have been Germans and their 
gifts to the world in this way have been many. 

The boys carry their books, and sometimes 
their dinner, in a small knapsack which is 
strapped on their shoulders, like a soldier’s 
knapsack. On the Continent you will often see 
children carrying these knapsacks and looking 
as if they were enjoying a walking-tour, instead 


88 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


of only going to school. But walking tours are 
often taken by boys with a master, in Germany 
or Switzerland. Once the tale of Goliath and 
David was related. The teacher described the 
giant with his panzerhemd (shirt of mail) and 
David in his shepherd’s dress. Then he asked 
questions. They were all answered till he said, 
“What had Goliath on?” Then no one spoke. 
Panzerhemd was too long a word. At last one 
urchin stretched out a chubby little fist as a 
sign that he knew. “Well, Mase,” said the 
teacher, “what had Goliath on?” “Please, sir, 
a hemdlein!” answered the voice. A hemdlein 
is a little baby shirt. 

The school day begins early in Germany, for 
the elder boys have all to be at their places in 
school by seven o’clock from Easter to October, 
and by eight in the winter. The little ones and 
the girls are expected by eight all the year 
around. So you see that our little German 
cousins have at least an hour more of school 
each day than we have. 

The girls are punished by bad notes. If a 
girl has three bad notes she must report her- 
self to the Director, or Rector, as he is called, 
and this is considered a great disgrace. 

Singing and gymnastics belong to the school 
studies. Gymnastics, especially, is always 
attended to, and takes the place in Germany 
that the national games do in our country. 

The principal out-door amusements, if we 



A German New Year’s Custom. 



















’ 










































































GERMANY 


89 


except the numberless games common to all 
countries (as “I spy,” 4 4 Puss in the Corner,” 
and the like), are skating and sleighing in win- 
ter, and soldiering in summer. 

Sleighing is a great amusement, and lasts 
many weeks in Germany. Their winter is a long 
and cold season, and is sure to bring heavy 
falls of snow and sharp frost. The frost may 
last as long as it likes, and frequently does last 
for a couple of months. A fine chance this for 
skating; fine for sleighing! For this latter 
amusement Nature has to lend a willing hand, 
too. More or less gentle slopes and hills not too 
far out of town, and yet so far that the police 
will not stop the sport, are the favors required 
of her. 

Old Winter and Nature being obliging, the 
children make the best use of all their holiday 
hours; and, pulling their fur or worsted caps 
over their ears, and thrusting their hands into 
their moleskin gloves, hurry away to the tops 
of the hills with their sleds and come sliding 
down the frozen slope in high glee. The steeper 
the hill and the more numerous the sleighers, 
the wilder and more dangerous the sport, and 
the more loved by the boys, who almost prefer 
it to the summer’s amusement of soldiering. 

In a military land like Germany, the gay uni- 
forms, the music, the flags, the parades are the 
first things that attract a child’s eye, and his 
earliest wish is for a helmet, a wooden sword, 


90 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


and a drum. Sometimes papa presents liis 
young son with a whole suit of uniform for his 
birthday; and it is very funny to see a hero of 
six march with dignity up and down before his 
father’s house, or touch his cap with martial 
salute. 

As the boy grows older the military spirit 
continues. In most parts of Germany every 
saint’s day is a school holiday. Besides this, 
there are half-holidays for heat. If the day is 
very warm the schoolboy is given a holiday in 
the afternoon. These precious afternoons are 
occupied in making excursions to some fine old 
ruin, a cloister or a fort. They wear many a 
stray scrap of armor, helmets of all descrip- 
tions, a mail shirt or two and spurs, and all 
have wooden swords, an old gun that has long 
since ceased firing, or a blunt sabre, brought 
from some distant land and kept at home as a 
relic. On one of the heights that surround the 
town, perhaps in the middle of a wood, stands 
a fort crudely made by boys in remote years, 
and used by generations of boys since. Here 
the flag is hoisted; the boys divide into two 
parties — one party “mans” the fort and 
defends the flag, the other tries to cross the 
moat and storm the position. 

Of course there is plenty of noise; and the 
blast of the never-failing horn, and the shouts 
of the boys, often guide father and mother, 
who are taking their afternoon walk, to the 


GERMANY 


91 


spot. The mothers look on with something like 
terror, fearful of sprained ankles, wounds and 
bruises; but the father enjoys the sight. He 
remembers how he played at the same fort when 
he was a boy, and enters thoroughly into the 
spirit of the game. 

After autumn come, with rapid strides, win- 
ter and the Christmas holidays. Short they 
are, only ten days in length, hut perhaps all the 
more enjoyable because of this. The boys and 
girls have fair-money given them (for there is 
always a fair held before Christmas) with 
which they can make their little purchases and 
contributions to the Christmas tree. Then the 
attics have to give up their treasures; and the 
tiny castle, with its moat, drawbridge, and regi- 
ments of soldiers drawn up in martial array 
in the castle yard; the villa with its pleasure- 
grounds, its lakes, its playing fountains; the 
doll-houses, dolls, kitchens, pantries, shops, 
theatres, etc., all come under review, are 
painted afresh, repaired, newly papered, newly 
arranged; the dolls are sent to the doll-doctor 
(in some towns there is a so-called doll-doctor, 
whose whole time is employed in repairing the 
tender persons of these fragile creatures), and 
some addition is made as a surprise to each 
different toy. 

The children write their “Wunsch-zettel” — a 
list of the new presents that they would like to get 
— and mamma and papa choose from the rather 


92 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


long list what they think suitable. The tree is 
bought and hidden, to be secretly decorated, 
and on Christmas Eve papa lights it up with 
great ceremony, after mamma has arranged the 
presents and a great plateful of cakes for each 
member of the household. Then the doors are 
opened, and the impatient children are 
admitted. 

The next week they are very busy. Selling, 
buying, cooking (all on a small scale), dolls ’ 
christenings, dolls’ parties, theatrical perform- 
ances, and many other celebrations follow each 
other in rapid succession, till New Year’s day 
is passed and the holidays are over. 

On New Year’s day the children have a 
quaint custom of dressing up, twelve in a party, 
to represent the different months of the year. 
Hand in hand, in a line with January leading, 
they march around singing, upstairs and down- 
stairs, all over the house, and then around to 
the houses of their friends. 

Then it is that all the larger toys vanish to 
their attics, and are not to be brought down 
again till another twelve-month has flitted past 
with its school-life and its home pleasures; till 
the Christ-child moves once more past the win- 
dow, and the frosted fir-tree stands in festal 
array awaiting its guests. 


Chapter IX. 

AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY. 

A USTRIA-HUNGARY is a country which is 
made up of people of many tribes and 
nations, some of them Austrians, but we 
should have to give a dozen or more names to 
tell who they all are. 

And they are not at all alike in their modes 
of life, their habits or their languages, and the 
ways of the children differ as much as those of 
their fathers and mothers. So we can pick 
out only what will be most interesting to Amer- 
ican boys and girls, though there is so much 
that is interesting that we scarcely know where 
to begin. 

Not where to begin! The little street-boy, 
who begs for a zehner (a coin worth about five 
cents) in the “ring” at Vienna helps us out of 
this difficulty. When he has got his zehner 
he dances away, shrieking at the top of his 
voice : 

“There is but one Empire Town, 

Is but one Vienna.” 

and all Austrians sing the same song, and 
firmly believe that there is no town or place in 
the wide world that will bear comparison with 
their merry, beautiful, music and art-loving 
capital. 

Following the hint that the street-boy has 

( 93 ) 


94 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


given us, we might take you to the lovely Park 
or Prater of Vienna, with its three noble 
avenues. 

You would like the Volks avenue best, for 
there all the wonders of the world may be seen 
at different seasons of the year. Dwarfs and 
giants, Punch and Judy shows, white mice and 
monkeys, dancing dogs and happy families, 
tight-rope dancers and wandering menageries, 
all are here, the noise and fun being great; 
bands are playing, singers are singing, barrel 
organs are droning, Italians are crying : 
‘ i Salamucci, Salami, Salamini ducci ! ? ? to induce 
people to buy their Salami and Swiss cheese, 
and cafes in which everything besides coffee 
may be bought are everywhere about. 

But, apart from their merry and laughter- 
loving disposition, the Austrian children are 
not unlike their cousins in Germany, for they 
have similar home customs and amusements 
and pretty toys. 

We shall not stop in the fair city of Vienna, 
hut shall make excursions, now to the Tyrol, 
then to Roumania, Slavonia, Croatia, and other 
lands of the Austrian empire, and by telling 
something about the child-life in these coun- 
tries, help you to form an idea of the whole. 
s And first to the Tyrol. 

“On the bridge of the Inn I would stand and see 

The rafts with their merry company ; 

Tyrolean voices sing from afar, 

Huldi-eh !” 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


95 


A number of schoolboys out for a day’s 
excursion are floating down the River Inn on 
a raft. This is fine fun, but not without dan- 
ger, especially to such an unruly company. 
But the tall, brawny Tyrolese raftsmen are 
equal to their task, and guide the raft care- 
fully with their long poles, taking the bends 
and falls of the river in masterly style. 

At length the boys reach their destination, 
and are all landed safely, minus a cap or two, 
which the Inn with its light blue waters tosses 
about in triumph and will not give up again. 
“Huldi-eh, Oh!” sing the boys as they climb 
the hill-side, decking their remaining caps with 
green, and looking for bilberries on the way, 
and “Huldi-eh, Oh, Huldi-eh!” answers the 
raftsman’s son, as he looks after them, a little 
wistfully, maybe, and helps his father to set the 
raft afloat again. 

The raftsman’s son has plenty of hard work 
and not too much pleasure, but he grows up 
hardy and strong, and has a better lot than 
many boys and girls of his country. 

A number of Tyrolese children, girls espe- 
cially, are occupied in the summer months in 
picking bilberries or cranberries, or collecting 
ant eggs. 

In the lower valley of the Inn, and, above all, 
near Innsbuck, the whimberry or bilberry 
grows in large quantities. The berry gatherers 
begin their work early in the mornings of 


96 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


August and September, and as the berries that 
grow highest on the rocks are the best for mak- 
ing the bilberry brandy and fetch the best price, 
there is a good deal of climbing to be done 
before the berry picking begins. 

The children have a kind of comb to assist 
them in gathering the fruit. This is a long cup 
with a handle, and above the cup a comb. When 
this instrument is pulled gently through the 
plants the comb draws off the berries, which 
fall into the cup, and when the cup is full it is 
emptied into a basket. 

Many of these baskets are seen on market 
days floating down the river on the rafts, the 
little gatherer beside it on her way to Innsbuck 
to sell her berries. 

The ant egg collectors, ant-witches, as they 
are called, because they put on the most shabby 
and ragged clothes they possess when at work, 
are seen mainly in the neighborhood of Seerfeld. 
There the woods and forests are thick with 
underwood, and the soil very favorable to ant 
life. The brown-red forest ant is the one the 
girls look for, as ants of this species live 
together in great numbers and have larger eggs 
than other kinds. 

The way the eggs are collected is singular. 

First of all the girls seek a sunny place where 
a brook or some little stream flows. At the edge 
of the stream they make a kind of island by 
scooping out a small ditch round about two 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


97 


feet of soil, and leading the water into it let it 
flow off below into its natural bed. In the little 
island thus formed they scoop a few holes which 
are covered over with green leaves and twigs to 
keep them shady. After these arrangements 
the girls go into the woods in all directions and 
look for ant-hills. They have a kind of small 
spade or trowel with them and a bag; now and 
then also a pair of coarse gloves to protect their 
hands from stings. 

When an ant-hill is found they remove the 
soil gently with their spade till the white eggs 
are laid bare. If the eggs be much scattered 
they do not waste time, but shovel the whole 
ant-hill into their bag and proceed on their 
search for more. After they have filled the bag 
they return to their island, and empty the con- 
tents of the hag — ants, eggs, and soil, — on it, 
taking care to leave the shaded holes free. 
Then they go a little aside and eat their meal, 
picnic fashion, on the bank of the brook, per- 
haps, too, take a nap; for they know that the 
ants will do the rest of their work for them. 
And so it is. The little creatures set to work 
without delay to remove all their eggs into the 
shady holes provided for them. At the 
approach of the evening the girls can collect the 
eggs without difficulty, and turning the water 
off so that the poor deluded ants can leave their 
island at their leisure, they march off with their 
booty. These eggs sell well for the food of 
birds. 


7 


98 CHILDBEN OF ALL NATIONS 


Ways of making themselves useful besides 
these are many more in which the Tyrolean 
children are engaged — carving in wood, for 
instance, embroidering and making lace, help- 
ing their parents, too, in one or other of the 
many trades peculiar to Tyrolese villages, such 
as the making of gloves, training of canaries, 
washing and bleaching for towns and, as in 
Teferregen, weaving carpets from cow-hair. 

A favorite amusement is to play the zither or 
the dulcimer. Often the girl takes her zither, a 
stringed instrument well adapted to the Tyrol- 
ese national songs, and the boy his dulcimer, 
and very sweet does a duet on both sound in the 
open air. Boys are also fond of making all 
kinds of little machines, of forming or construct- 
ing mimic water-mills among the mountains, 
and are very clever with tools, and in their 
ability to make things both useful and ornamen- 
tal for the house, they are natural-born car- 
penters. 

But now I must mention one sad race of chil- 
dren — those belonging to the wandering gypsy 
tribes who have their homes in dirty villages in 
some parts of the country. In these the chil- 
dren and their parents pass the winter, but at 
the first approach of spring they begin their 
wanderings, which they often extend to long 
distances. 

A shabby, two-wlieeled cart drawn by the 
father of the family, or if he can afford it by 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


99 


a lean donkey, is covered with a rude awning, 
and contains brushes, brooms, baskets, pitchers, 
pans, or whatever the gypsy has taken up as 
his trade. In front a number of bird-cages 
hang, some of which are sure to hold trained 
birds which can sing a variety of songs and per- 
form one or two clever tricks. By the side of 
the cart runs a dirty, evil-looking dog, whose 
qualities, however (for it is sure to be true as 
steel), are better than its looks. 

The father, mother, and half-dozen children 
are dirty and ragged, but have in their clothing 
the scraps of bright color of which all gypsies 
are fond. Their coming is so certain every year 
that in towns distinct places are set apart for 
them and if in the villages their accustomed 
barn or shed is not to be had, they think, it no 
trial to camp out in the open air. Their lives 
are the lives of all the gypsies in the world ; the 
father mends pans or baskets, the mother sits 
near her cart and tends the baby, occasionally 
earning a penny by telling passers-by their for- 
tunes, and the children wander about in all 
directions to beg or to steal. 

But we must now hurry away and visit the 
other peoples of the empire. Wherever we find 
that the houses are bright-looking and clean, the 
children tidy and well taught, and a general air 
of industry and prosperity prevails, we may be 
sure it is a German village, and we may hope 
that the mother in Transylvania may long sing 


100 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


her pretty cradle-song to her children in pros- 
perity and peace. 

Two of these cradle-songs are here given, 
translated into English: 

In Summer. 

“Sleep, Hansi, Sleep ! 

In the yard the birds are sing- 
ing, 

On the hearth the cat is purr- 
ing ! 

Thou’rt more than thousands 
golden -worth 
To me, my Hansi, sleep ! 

Though the little child has such tender songs 
addressed to him, he is brought up to be hardy 
and strong, and taught to be very industrious. 
So industrious indeed, that it has become a say- 
ing that if a Saxon — as the Germans of the 
kingdom are called — has no other work to do he 
pulls down his house and builds it again. Not 
that his home needs pulling down; it is gen- 
erally pretty, with a garden, which girls keep 
full of bright flowers, and a pigeon-house kept 
by the boys, and a balcony where the father and 
mother find time in the evening to sit and chat 
with their friends. 

Inside the house is roomy and neat. A great, 
green stove with benches round it and poles 
above it on which clothes are hung to air, occu- 
pies a good part of it ; boards are ranged below 
the ceiling for plates and dishes, and below them 


In Winter. 

‘ ‘The clouds are flying 
The winds are sighing, 
The flakes are falling 
Around so wild. 

Sleep on, my precious one, 
Sleep, my child !” 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


101 


hooks, in regular rows, with jugs hanging from 
them that are only used in times of feast. A 
Black Forest clock and a few books, perhaps a 
picture or two, may be seen, and in side rooms 
we have a glimpse of clean beds piled up with 
pillows and coverlets as in Germany. In many 
parts of Hungary, as is also the case in Holland, 
no doubt to save room, the bedsteads are made 
with drawers in them. These are always pulled 
out at night, and serve the children for beds. 

The Roumanians are a simple mountain peo- 
ple. When a Roumanian child is born the 
father says, “Happiness is fallen on my house,” 
and certain it is that he has very little trouble 
with his child, who grows up as hardy, as idle, 
and with as few wants as himself. A few days 
after the child’s birth food and money are 
placed on a table for the three fairies who are 
supposed to determine its fate. The nurse 
pockets the money and eats the food — but this 
very likely comes to the same thing. When the 
child is three years old its hair is cut, with great 
care and with a pair of new scissors, a cake is 
broken in two over his head, and some present 
is given which will be useful to him when he gets 
older. His food is maize or Indian corn made 
up into a paste, a cheese made of the milk of 
sheep, vegetables and fruit. He is taught to 
pray: “Lord, give not to man as much as 
he could do with ; ” to stand with bent and bare 
head to salute the rising sun, which is considered 


102 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


holy, and he has to learn many rules with regard 
to what is thought clean or unclean. Besides 
the sun, some animals, and even wheaten bread, 
are thought sacred. 

The village schools are good and plentiful. 
The children of Slavonia are very intelligent, 
and are clever at learning languages. They 
always know one or two besides their own, and 
are skilled in carving, painting and modeling, 
and in the making of pretty little baskets. 
They are fond of singing, but many of the old 
national songs are lost because their priests 
(they are Catholics) do not approve of their 
singing them. They are fond of wise proverbs, 
legends, and fairy tales, which, in the winter 
evenings, when the spinning-wheel is set in 
motion, and the father sits at his loom and 
weaves, the mother or grandmother often tells 
them. 

And now, not having space to write about the 
Bohemians, the Bulgarians, or the many J ews, we 
shall tell of only one or two scenes from the life of 
a Croatian child, and a description of Christmas 
in Croatia. In that country very old fashioned 
ideas of race prevail. All the members and 
relatives of a family form one company. One 
of the company is chosen as head, who takes 
charge of the property of all, settles disputes 
and divides the work to be done. The children 
are taught to be respectful to their parents, 
very respectful to their godfathers and god- 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


103 


mothers, and to live on the best footing with the 
children of the Greeks, Jews and others who 
may be their neighbors. They also have good 
schools and learn well. 

Among many pretty and singular customs 
peculiar to different seasons of the year, those 
relating to Christmas are perhaps the most 
interesting. For the Christmas feast, the finest 
wheat flour, the sweetest honey, the richest fruit 
and the best wine are stored up. The grand- 
mother dips the three wax lights that must stand 
on the Christmas table. The boys are sent to the 
woods to find the immense log of wood, which, 
after having been sprinkled with wine, is put in 
the stove on Christmas Eve. Two great loaves 
are baked, which are to signify the Old and New 
Testament. When the cliurch-bell rings on 
Christmas Eve, the whole family assembles in 
the dwelling-room; the first of the tapers is 
lighted, and a hymn is sung. The table is 
spread with eatables, and near the two Christ- 
mas loaves, which are placed on it, is a small 
cup or vessel with wheat, barley and oats. 

Before the feast begins the father goes to the 
table, takes the burning taper in his hand, and 
says, “ Christ is born.” The children and all 
others repeat, “Is born, really born.” Then 
the taper is placed in turn in the hand of each 
child, who has to stand on the bench by the 
stove and say three times,” “Praise be the 
Lord! Christ is born!” whereupon the other 


104 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


members of the family answer, “Praise the 
name of the Lord forever, and may He grant 
thee life and health ! ’ ’ 

On Christmas Day the second taper is lighted, 
the father says a short prayer, and then, blow- 
ing out the taper, pushes it down among the 
grains contained in the little vessel we have 
already mentioned. Then he examines it. That 
kind of grain which sticks to the candle, wheat, 
barley or oats, will, he believes, yield the best 
crop in the coming year. 

The last of the three tapers is always burned 
on New Year’s Day, which closes the Christmas 
festivities. 

These Christmas customs you have noticed, 
no doubt, to be important features in the child- 
life of nearly every country we have written 
about. Just as American children rejoice in the 
season when Christ as a child came into the 
world, so all the little people, the Hungarians, 
Germans, Croatians and many others love to 
celebrate Christmas. So when you read this 
book, do not forget the poor little Croat or 
Tyrolese in his hut, or the Bohemians in their 
tents, who according to their quaint and pretty 
customs, are celebrating the birth of our 
Saviour, as well as yourselves ; and be sure you 
wish them and all your kind friends at home, 
who are thus united in one great band of Chris- 
tians, a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New 
Year!” 


AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY 


105 


At a future day some of you who read these 
pages will possibly go to Hungary or Bohemia, 
and see for yourselves the many wonders and 
curiosities of those countries, and make 
acquaintance with the little Croats and Magyars ; 
and perhaps they will tell you a great deal more 
of their manners and customs, and of their 
games and schooling than we, in these few 
pages, have been able to do. 


Chapter X. 


INDIANS OF NOETH AND SOUTH 
AMEEICA. 

B EFOEE visiting any more children of 
Europe, who are all more or less alike, 
let us read of one of the very oldest races 
in the whole world. 

As you doubtless know, there were once no 
white people in the western world and our 
Indian cousins were free to wander where they 
chose. When the white men came with their 
greater skill and knowledge, the Indians were 
soon driven west until but few remain, and 
fewer still yet live in the manner of their grand- 
fathers. But because they were once a great 
and powerful people we shall describe the man- 
ners and customs of our little red cousins who 
are growing up in the same way that little 
Indian boys and girls have grown up in this 
country for centuries and centuries and cen- 
turies. 

The North American Indian baby is put in a 
cradle most beautifully made by its mother, and 
it takes a great deal of time and trouble to 
weave the grass and other materials, to put 
on the beads and make it look pretty for the 
“ papoose.’ ’ All the Indian tribes do not make 
( 106 ) 


INDIANS OF AMERICA 


107 


their cradles in precisely the same way ; but the 
example of one may be accepted as the type 
of all, Alaska in the north to Mexico in the 
south. 

If you were to see it, especially when the child 
is suspended in it, I think it would hardly 
appear to he very cosy. If you can imagine a 
long, oval plate with an immense “roley-poley” 
pudding on it, and one end of the roley-poley 
with a head sticking out, you have the Indian 
baby in its cradle, wrapped up. 

Does this seem pleasant, think you? We do 
not. The Indian baby, though, is not unhappy. 
He is laid upon a board and fastened to it on 
his back. Of course the board is not a bare, 
hard piece of wood. No. The Indian mother 
is just as fond of her little one as your kind 
mamma is of you. The board is covered with 
nice, soft skins, and thongs are fastened to it 
to wrap the child carefully. In our nursery 
rhymes we read of a certain Baby Bunting 
whose father went a-hunting to fetch a rabbit- 
skin in which to wrap his baby. This is what 
the Indian does. 

He finds deer-skins or matting or soft bark 
of trees when he cannot get skins, and the 
mother stuffs the little cradle with soft grass or 
moss or woolen rags — with anything nice and 
soft — and then the little baby is fastened up 
lightly with thongs, and straps in his roley- 
poley-looking cradle on the board. 


108 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


Perhaps yon would not think that the Indian 
baby is very comfortable, but he is, for we have 
heard that he will cry to go back to his cradle, 
though he is bound up so tightly, and can only 
move his poor little head. Sometimes the 
cradles are hung up on the boughs of the trees 
while the mothers are away, and the appearance 
of the little creatures must be curious as they 
dangle from the branches, fast asleep. Thus, 
you see, the Indian mother, who generally has 
plenty of work to do, is not troubled to carry 
her baby on one arm while she cooks the dinner, 
or obliged to leave it on the cold floor while 
she does the washing. The Indian baby is 
allowed to roll about on the grass, if it is good, 
sometimes; but if it cries much it is wrapped 
up again, and it soon learns to be quiet. It is 
fed when most convenient, and put to rest in 
a corner against the wall, as we would rest our 
umbrella when the mother is busy in the tent, 
or hung up in the wigwam out of the reach of 
the dogs, if it wants to sleep. 

When the baby grows up, and has escaped or 
lived through the diseases and accidents which 
all children are likely to have, it becomes a 
strong and hearty little Indian boy or girl, as 
the case may be. But in most cases it is 
attacked by measles, or some such childish ill- 
ness as you have had, and then the poor mother 
is very anxious. She sends for the doctor, of 
course, you say! 


INDIANS OF AMERICA 


109 


Yes, for the doctor such as Indians have. 
But he is not really a doctor like our kind 
attendants. He or she is a kind of magician, 
for the ignorant tribes in many parts of the 
world who have grown up from strange chil- 
dren into equally strange men and women, think 
illness is caused by an evil spirit. There are 
only two remedies for strange babies — ‘ 4 kill or 
cure ! 1 1 

The poor mothers know no better. They are 
extremely fond of their children, and would do 
anything to keep their little dusky or copper- 
colored babies; but the enchanter is the only 
person who they think can help them. They do 
not know God as we do, and although they wor- 
ship sometimes the Great Spirit, they have no 
idea that sickness is His punishment or His 
mercy. They think it is an evil spirit, so they 
ask the man or woman magician to come with 
charms and incantations to drive it out. 

Then the “medicine man” comes, and unless 
nature interferes the poor strange baby has 
little chance. The doctor begins to cry and 
burn wood and grass before the child, shaking 
a rattle, and nearly driving the poor baby mad. 
If after this treatment the child survives, it will 
presumably endure anything. But it more fre- 
quently dies, and the parents are quite satisfied 
that they have done all they could, and the little 
one has gone to the “happy hunting-grounds” 
of the tribe. 


110 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


Whether the baby survives or not, the “doc- 
tor” is praised and rewarded for his courage in 
attacking and overcoming the evil demon in one 
case, or for his courage in approaching him at 
all, even if he has not driven him away, in the 
other. Under such circumstances it is not sur- 
prising that Indian boys and girls grow up 
strong and well fit for almost any hardships, 
for only the very hardy ones can possibly sur- 
vive, as consumption is a frequent malady, and 
small-pox is terribly destructive. 

"We shall suppose, however, that the Indian 
child survives its childish troubles, and shall 
tell you now something concerning his amuse- 
ments and his sister’s labors. You see we put 
the amusement for the boy and the labor for 
the girl with good reason, for the lad plays and 
the girl works. 

Amongst the Indians the women work, and 
the men fight, fish, hunt, shoot, get tipsy, but 
certainly do not work. 

The Indian boy is quite a spoiled child. He 
does just as he pleases. From the time he is 
able to leave his mother’s apron-string, we 
may say — though Indian ladies do not dress 
like our nurses — the young Indian literally runs 
wild. He does as he likes, comes and goes as 
he pleases ; unfurnished with any clothes what- 
ever, his mother has no anxiety concerning his 
falling down and cutting holes in his trousers ; 
there is no sighing over caps tossed in the 


INDIANS OF AMERICA 


111 


gutter, no complaints concerning nails which 
have torn coat-sleeves, or the darning of socks. 
No, the Indian lad is as free as a bird and as 
saucy as a sparrow. 

Indeed 4 ‘ saucy ’ 9 is scarcely the term. He is 
impudent, and even disrespectful to his elders, 
including his parents. He ‘ ‘ bullies ’ ’ his sisters, 
and has no idea of being put down by any one. 
No one has any authority over him; he “goes 
his own gait,” and naturally grows up a proud 
and conceited young warrior. Human nature 
is much the same all the world over— white 
boys, black boys, copper-colored boys, or red 
boys, are all the same. Education and civiliza- 
tion make the only difference. So our spoiled 
American child will become wilful and dis- 
obedient as well as the little Indian if he be not 
checked in time. 

Then the wild youth swims in the lakes, runs 
races, plays games, goes about with the dogs, 
fishes and cooks his fish — above all things, he 
eats. He is always eating except when he is 
asleep, and then, probably, he may have some- 
thing in his mouth. He has long weapons — 
bows and arrows — a little spear perhaps, or a 
blow-pipe in some countries. Toys, he has 
none, except, perhaps, a ball or a kite. His 
nature is to destroy and kill; killing birds or 
snaring them, robbing their nests, catching 
ground-game, and generally amusing himself, 
until he becomes a man and a “brave.” Yet 


112 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


with all this want of an education, as we would 
term it, the Indian lad picks up much experience 
of a kind useful to him. He truly has “ books 
in the running brooks” and “sermons in 
stones” — only they they are not books or ser- 
mons to him. He can read a trail or guide 
himself by the stars. He knows by the turn of 
a leaf in what direction an animal has gone, 
and can tell you also what it was. He is gay 
and cheerful, and as dirty as you can imagine, 
yet he is frequently bathing and swimming. 
The dirt remains; oil and grease have become 
part and parcel of his skin. He is, indeed, a 
very dirty boy. 

The little Indian girl is differently brought 
up. As soon as she can run she is furnished 
with a dress, and assists her mother in her 
fetching and carrying wood and water. When 
girls get older they still continue to work, and 
have little time for playing, like their brothers. 
They embroider and sew skins of the animals 
the men kill; they procure roots and berries, 
and indeed are never idle, for no created being 
works harder than an Indian woman, and the 
daughter is always helping her mother. 

Some day the girl will grow up strong, and a 
warrior from the tribe, or from some other, 
will come and purchase her from her parents, 
and she will go away from her mother’s tent to 
the warrior’s wigwam, learn to make a cradle, 
and have all the trouble and teaching with her 
little baby that her mother has had with her. 


INDIANS OF AMERICA 


113 


The boy grows up, goes on fishing, hunting 
and shooting. 

There is another kind of Indian who lives in 
South America. A curious, stolid, dull little 
thing is the Amazon Indian child. When he 
comes into the world, clothed in a brown skin, 
the little Amazon lies quietly in his cradle, 
scarcely taking any notice of anything, and 
receiving very little attention from his mother. 
The happy children in the United States and 
Europe are looked after very carefully; even 
the poor people attend to their little ones; but 
the Amazon mother takes no trouble about her 
baby; it lies in its hammock-like cradle, and 
keeps quiet. 

When it grows up it runs about as it pleases, 
living on fish and a kind of meal. It is a timid, 
gentle child, and does what it is told; it smiles 
and grins when pleased, plays about, looks, 
wonders, touches, tastes, but seems quite care- 
less about its surroundings ; and our little 
Amazon would be no more tempted to make a 
hole in a toy drum (if he had one) to find where 
the noise came from than a little girl Amazon 
would try to see what was inside her doll. 
They do not mind ; they take life as they find it, 
and sometimes they find it hard. 

Then when they grow older they have few 
amusements except dancing. They do not play 
with toys much, if at all; we mean rough toys, 
for, of course, there are no nice shops for them 
8 


114 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


to buy anything in. Sometimes a bow and 
arrow, or some such useful implement, will 
occupy a boy, but the little girls sit watching, 
watching all day, and doing very little. When 
they grow up they beat cotton, or prepare the 
various kinds of roots for food. The Amazons 
are great pottery-makers, and they also fish con- 
tinually. 

The little Amazon may, perhaps, have some 
schooling and go into service. But when they 
remain in their village they work and take great 
care of all their old people, to whom they are 
obedient and reverent. They grow like a plant 
and die — having existed quietly just as their 
parents did. 

Children of Towcan tribes in Central Amer- 
ica are sometimes engaged to be married as 
soon as they appear in the world, and a piece 
of cloth of the same color is fastened on the 
arm of each baby, so that even if they be sep- 
arated in childhood, there can be no mistake later 
as to which couples are to marry each other. 
They also wear shells — one for every year they 
live — and when they can count fifteen or twenty 
shells in the row they may be married. Let us 
now turn our attention again to Europe and 
climb up into the beautiful mountains of Switz- 
erland and visit our cousins there. 


Chapteb XI. 
SWITZERLAND. 

W HAT American boy or girl would not 
like to change places for a month or 
two in the summer with a Swiss moun- 
tain child? How delightful it would be to live 
in a pretty Swiss cottage with its projecting 
eaves, its bark roof held firm by huge stones, 
its many-paned windows gay with flowers, its 
balconies, and its funny wooden outside stair- 
case leading to the door. Then the snow-peaks 
at the back, the pine-forest below, and the 
mountain brook at the side, dashing and splash- 
ing over rock and stone in great haste to reach 
the valley. 

How charming we would find it to follow the 
pretty Alpine cattle from one green hollow to 
another, to listen to their tinkling bells, play 
with the tame goats, pluck lovely wild flowers 
and catch bright butterflies, and then learn to 
call as the herd-boys do, and blow the Alpine 
horn, and sing the “Ranz des Vaches,” and in 
the evening to listen to the stories of adventure 
of the guide or chamois-hunter, as he rests for 
a quarter of an hour on his way down from 
dangerous mountain-passes, snowfields, and 
rivers of ice. Or, on some lovely evening, how 

( 115 ) 


116 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


delightful to listen to the tales of wizards and 
witches, giants and dwarfs, dragons and huge 
monsters, that lie coiled up at the bottom of the 
mountain lakes and are never seen, hut are 
heard to hiss and groan and splutter when a 
storm is at hand or a misfortune is about to 
happen; stories told by the gray-haired grand- 
father as he smokes his pipe below the cottage 
eaves or by the hearth-stone, or as he sits, 
surrounded by attentive children, on the bench 
beneath the cottage windows. How many 
stories there are, too, of the famous heroes of 
Switzerland, who by their brave and daring 
deeds drove out again and again the tyrants 
who would have destroyed them or made them 
slaves. 

Though the people speak four different 
languages, have many religious beliefs, and 
though even the government is not alike in dif- 
ferent parts, the Swiss States are bound 
together by a bond which is stronger than 
language or creed can make. Our cousins 
among those beautiful mountains, like ourselves, 
prize liberty for all and brotherly love above 
everything. These make the most powerful of 
ties. How their hearts must beat with pride 
when they hear again and again of brave 
William Tell and Arnold von Winkelried and 
others who made the country famous for 
bravery and unselfishness ! 

Yes, we think it would be very pleasant to 


SWITZERLAND 


117 


be there, but if an American boy or girl hears 
of the hot wind, that seems hot enough to set the 
pretty cottage on fire, or the avalanche falling 
and burying it in its snows, or the little brook 
swelling with spring rains and melting snow 
and sweeping it away, he will be glad that his 
cradle stands on American ground. 

And — talking of cradles, I fancy that an 
American baby, if he could express his thoughts, 
would decidedly object to being placed in the 
small narrow box that bears this name in Switz - 
erland, and would fight against the bands or 
ribbons which are tightly wound round it and 
him. 

The Swiss baby has, of course, no such objec- 
tion to it. Probably he knows that there is 
good reason for being wedged in so tightly and 
bound so firmly, and submits without a murmur. 

The origin of the custom is this : 

In the spring of the year the people of the 
villages and hamlets shut up their cottages, and 
driving their cattle before them, go up the moun- 
tains to live in their chalets, or pretty moun- 
tain homes, during the summer months. They 
do not stay in one chalet all the time, but when 
the pasturage becomes poor they go to another, 
and still another, changing their place of living 
it may be eight or nine times in the course of 
the season. The scanty furniture of the differ- 
ent chalets remains in them from year to year, 
so they have only to bring with them what they 


118 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


need for cooking and for the making of butter 
and cheese. These the father carries, the elder 
children helping him ; the little children run by 
his side, and the mother lifts the cradle with the 
baby in it on her head, fastens the milk-pail 
and the family umbrella on her shoulders, and, 
taking her knitting in her hand, works away at 
a pair of coarse worsted gaiters for Seppi, or 
a neckerchief for Kathi, as she ascends the 
mountain. 

The first day that the cattle are driven on 
to their mountain pasture-grounds is a great 
one for them and their owners, and especially 
for the children, who flock together from town 
and village to see a very strange sight. 

For the first thing that the cows do on find- 
ing themselves freed from their winter stable- 
life, and allowed to roam at will on the green 
slopes before and around the chalet, is to dis- 
pute each other’s claim to be leader of the herd. 

They fight with each other for this, and the 
children look on and wonder if “Griotta,” the 
red cow, or “Violetta,” the brown one, or 
“Brunna,” the black one, or “Masera,” the 
spotted one, will win. At last the fight is ended, 
and the victorious cow receives the badge of 
office, the great bell which the herd-boy hangs 
round her neck. 

With a proud sense of her dignity she shakes 
the bell from time to time, and from this day 
is literally queen of the herd, its leader and 


SWITZERLAND 


119 


governor. She is so proud of this, that if, after 
having retained her office for a couple of years 
or so, another cow obtain the mastery in the 
annual fight and takes her place, it almost 
breaks her heart. She mopes like a sick child, 
becomes sad and melancholy, and refuses to eat. 

When the great dispute of “Who is to he 
queen V 9 is settled the children of the towns and 
villages return home with their parents; the 
herd-boy sits on a mossy stone, and lets the 
breeze play with his hair, and sings or jo dels 
in a merry voice the “Ranz des Vaches.” 

“Colombetta’s herd-boys are up betimes, 

Ho, ho ! Cows, cows, come and be milked ! 

Come all, great and small, white, black, young and old. 
Come under the oak where I shall milk you, 

Under the ash where I shall set the milk to curd. 

Cows, dear cows, come and be milked ! ” 

As long as the cattle remain on the lowest 
pasture-ground of the hills the children in the 
valleys often beg their parents to take them 
for a day’s excursion to the mountains. But 
when the cattle are taken to higher pastures 
these visits cease, and nothing more occurs to 
disturb the inmates of the chalet in their great 
work of making butter and cheese. 

The making of cheese is a very important 
part of their work, and in some parts of Switzer- 
land the riches of a man are counted by the 
number of cheeses he owns. 

A strange custom in the Valais is to make a 


120 CHILDKEN OF ALL NATIONS 


cheese when a child is horn, which is left nncut 
during his lifetime, and is often cut into for the 
first time at his funeral feast. A rich man lays 
aside wine as well as cheese for his own funeral, 
and when that takes place a goblet of this ‘ ‘ dead 
wine,” as it is called, is placed on the coffin, 
and the mourners take the goblet in their hand, 
touch the coffin with it, and drink the contents 
to a future meeting with their departed friend. 
“Au revoir!” (till we meet again) they say. 
When a child dies it is carried to the grave in 
an open coffin by other children, and its clothes 
are given to the poorest child in the village. 

Some of the girls in a Swiss family help their 
mother in the making of the cheeses, which they 
roll to a glacier, or ice mass (if one is near), 
and store up in cellars near the cool ice. 
Others make a simple cushion lace to sell to 
tourists, or offer curds and whey for sale. The 
boys serve as sheep or goat herds, and lead 
their flocks to wild and dangerous parts of the 
mountains. 

You will often see a little fellow, with feather 
in cap, stick in hand, blouse floating on the 
breeze, and legs and feet bare, standing fear- 
less and free on the very edge of a rock which 
projects over a deep cavity in the liill-sides, his 
troop of goats around him ; and night after night 
these hardy mountain boys sleep beneath the 
open sky, their only bed a heap of dry leaves 
kept together by a couple of large stones, or a 


SWITZERLAND 


121 


cloak spread out on the short grass. They sleep 
sweetly, fearing nothing ; and wake in the morn- 
ing to see the cattle peeping up towards them 
from the hollow where they have been resting, 
and the eagle soaring away to its nesting place 
on the mountain summit. 

School is held only during the winter months. 
The school-house is always the finest building 
in the village, the Swiss way of saying “as 
grand as a palace ’ ’ being ‘ ‘ as grand as a school 
house.’ ’ 

In the summer-time the boys learn the 
language of signs. This means that every 
household has its own sign or mark, which is 
kept in the family, descending from the father 
as a rule to the younger so$. 

This sign or mark is cut or branded on the 
ears of the sheep and goats, on the trunks of 
trees that have been felled in the forests, on 
everything in short that belongs to a special 
house. As the sheep and goats of a great many 
families are entrusted to the care of one herd- 
boy, and all have to be taken to their owners 
at the end of the summer, the herd-boy must be 
well taught in the meaning of the signs 

This takes a well trained memory, and the 
good minister, when he ascends the mountain 
at times during the summer to look after his 
flocks, and teach the children, often shakes his 
head, and complains that they are better 
acquainted with this sign language than with 
their lessons. 


122 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


As long as the families remain at the first or 
second stage on the mountain-side, they descend 
every Sunday to church, the mother carrying the 
baby, the father the next youngest child. The 
sermon is long, but the children, tired with their 
descent through the fresh mountain air, sleep 
peacefully through it, and only wake up when it 
is time to return home. In the Valais the people 
ride to church on donkeys or mules. The mother 
always sits in front, either carrying the baby 
or fastening its box-like cradle at the side. 
The father sits behind, holding on to his wife 
for fear he should slip off at the tail. The 
children run along by the side, the little ones 
grasping the donkey’s tail with both hands to 
help them to keep up with the others. 

It is only when the families have ascended to 
the higher chalets that the minister comes to 
them, and preaches in the open air. On these 
occasions he spends the night in one of the 
cottages, and often times his visit, so as to be 
present at one of the great wrestling-matches 
which take place on the mountains during the 
summer, and are looked forward to with great 
pleasure by parents, children, and the minister 
himself. 

A regular gymnastic training forms part of 
the boys’ and girls’ school duties, and all the 
Swiss children delight in contests of strength 
and bodily skill. 

In these matches the men of two cantons or 
divisions of the country take part. 


SWITZERLAND 


123 


First, as a rule, service is held, the minister 
standing at an improvised altar in the open air. 
Then the men, women, and children who have 
come from all the villages and small towns 
around form themselves into groups and eat 
the provisions they have brought with them, 
much of it black rye bread — for indeed they 
rarely see white bread in their homes — cheese, 
butter, cakes and buns disappear with great 
rapidity, and then the boys of the two cantons 
try their skill in some wrestling on their own 
account, but are soon pushed aside to make 
room for their elders, and are told to watch 
and learn. 

They do watch, and long for the time when 
they shall be men, and be entitled to take part in 
the match, which begins by the opponents, one 
of each canton, stepping forward and shaking 
hands in a friendly way, to show that the com- 
bat is peaceful and undertaken without any 
feeling of ill-will. When one of the wrestlers 
is thrown, another pair steps forward, and 
another, and another, till the young men of both 
cantons have all had an opportunity of display- 
ing their muscle and skill. 

The strongest couple is reserved for the last, 
and he who in three courses has thrown his 
opponent twice has won the day. The prize is 
a sheep decorated with garlands and ribbons. 

The children play all kinds of games, but 
their favorite is called — and I know you will 


124 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


laugh — ‘ ‘ Blind Cow. ’ ’ It is very much like our 
“Blind Man’s Buff,” however. 

A great amusement for boys when alone with 
their flocks on the mountain-side is carving. 
With a penknife and a piece of wood they begin 
to shape the image of a sheep, a goat, or a 
cow. At first their attempts are rude enough, 
but practice and a taste and skill inherited from 
their fathers soon make them perfect in their 
art. 

There are whole villages of toy makers. 
Every one in a family carves some part of the 
same toy, for they say to themselves: “It 
would be foolish to spend one’s time in learning 
new things. The longer a person works at mak- 
ing one kind or one part of toy the faster and 
better he can make it.” They make cuckoo- 
clocks, little tiny houses just like the ones they 
live in, wooden dolls and doll furniture and 
many toys and souvenirs to sell to tourists. 

Another amusement for boys in villages and 
towns is the posterli. On the evening of 
Twelfth Day the children come together, bring 
ing with them all kinds of instruments, Alpine 
horns, cattle bells, whips and tin kettles, and 
pass through the streets making what noise 
they can. The figure of a witch is placed on 
the back of a goat or donkey, or dragged on 
a sleigh, and it is with a view to the driving 
out of this switch or bad fairy that the pro- 
cession is formed, and the noise made. When 


SWITZERLAND 


125 


the figure has been paraded through the streets 
it is taken outside the town and left there, the 
noise ceases, and the children return home 
quietly. 

A peculiar custom is observed in the Munster 
valley. In the early spring all the hoys under 
fourteen go from house to house ringing great 
bells which they have attached to their belt. 
They call it by words which mean “to coax the 
grass to grow.” The boys have eggs given 
to them, also chestnuts, rice, and even money, 
and thus have a fine feast. These feast-days 
are never forgotten, as little forgotten as the 
box on the ear when a boundary-stone was 
placed. We do not know if the latter-named 
custom is still observed; but as it was a very 
practical one it is worth speaking of. 

When there was occasion to place a new 
boundary-stone in any part of the country to 
mark the division of land, the farmers or land- 
owners always took a boy with them to the 
spot. They told him nothing of their intentions, 
but when they arrived, they gave him a sound 
and sudden box on the ear, or a good pinch, or 
in some cantons they even beat him. This was 
a wise precaution in case the stone should in 
course of time get covered with earth, or be 
destroyed, or taken away. The boy never forgot 
the spot where he received the sudden and 
sharp box he had not deserved, and even if he 
lived to the age of a hundred could settle any 
dispute that might arise on the subject. 


126 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The hoys and girls love to row in the even- 
ings with their parents on the beautiful lakes, 
and admire the sunset as it tips the snowy 
mountain-peaks with rosy hues, or listen to 
sweet strains of music from the concert-hall, or 
watch the steamers as they pass to and fro; 
and then, when bedtime has come, they return 
home to sleep through a brief night, spend a 
brief day at school, and enjoy another as 
delightful evening as the last on their lovely 
and much-loved lake. 


Chapter XII. 

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 

O NE of the first presents that a little 
Spanish child receives from its parents 
when it shows signs of knowing that its 
feet were made to stand upon, and not merely 
Jo kick with, is a hat or cap of plaited straw, 
with a brim rolled up like a turban. 

When the child falls, this elastic roll protects 
its head from coming into rude contact with the 
tiled floor of the yard, or the rough pavement 
of the street, and is a precaution not to be 
despised in a country where the children grow 
up out of doors, and where the sun is so hot 
as to dry up all the grass. 

Not that all the streets and lanes are paved 
or hard. Donkeys and village children could 
tell us a different tale, enjoying as they do the 
fun of rolling about on their backs in a bed of 
dust that is thick and soft, and warm as a 
down pillow. 

The little turban-like hat, however, may be of 
as much use in the soft dust as on the hard 
pavement, for if a Spanish baby had not some- 
thing elastic ’round his head to make it bounce 
up again when he fell, he might very easily be 
suffocated before help arrived. 

( 127 ) 


128 CHILDBEN OF ALL NATIONS 


The next things given the child, especially at 
Christmas, are the zambomba and castanets. 

The zambomba is a favorite toy — a kind of 
drum, with a tube fastened and made to stand 
upright in the middle of the drumhead. "When 
a child runs his hand up and down this tube, 
very queer, if not very musical, sounds are 
heard. 

What with the zambomba and the castanets, 
the guitar and the mandolin, the shouting and 
laughing, a Spanish household is not a quiet 
one; but the Spaniards love noise, and never 
scold their children into quietness. The cas- 
tanets are shells of polished wood or ivory, 
hollowed-out, fastened together in pairs. They 
are attached to the thumb, and, lying in the 
palm of the hand, are made to clatter together 
and beat time to the dance, which is the prin- 
cipal amusement in Spain. 

On Corpus Christi Lay, the great festival 
day in Spain, and for eight days after, at set 
of sun, a great number of worshipers assemble 
in the Cathedral of Seville and kneel down at 
each side of the dimly-lighted dome. A number 
of priests surround the altar, before which are 
drawn up two long rows of boys from eight to 
ten years of age, dressed as Spanish cavaliers 
of the middle ages, with plumed hats and white 
stockings. At a given signal the sweet sounds 
of music are heard, coming from violins in a 
distant part of the church, and the two rows 


SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 


129 


of boys begin to move in graceful measure, 
beating time with their castanets. 

We often see wandering minstrels, players 
upon the guitar and tambourine, passing from 
place to place playing and singing for a living. 
The man plays the guitar and the woman the 
tambourine, in which she also collects the money 
given by the bystanders. This is a custom 
which has been brought to our own country, 
though here the street organ is used instead 
of the guitar. 

The Spanish people are great cigarette- 
smokers ; even the poorest are sure to have their 
“little cigars/’ and to smoke in great content 
when they have nothing else to do. 

But now I must describe the home of the 
little Spanish ninos and ninas (boys and girls), 
and also will tell you what a patio is. 

Very simple is the home of the village chil- 
dren: a one-storied house painted white on the 
outside, openings for windows with wooden 
shutters, no glass, a large gate or door, which 
stands open all day and gives the passer-by a 
glimpse of the one common room that serves 
as a kitchen, dwelling-room, and workshop 
during the day, and bed-room for the father 
and the boys by night. 

A mat or two, or their manta (cloak), is their 
only bed. In a small inner room the mother and 
the girls sleep, either on thin mattresses laid 
on the floor, or placed on a simple bedstead of 
boards resting on a raised framework. 

9 


130 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


In the large room there is sometimes a 
hearth, hut oftener the fire is made on the clay 
floor, and the smoke has to find its way through 
the doorway or windows as best it may. One 
or two rush-bottomed chairs, a few hooks in the 
wall, a board adorned with the few cooking 
utensils of the household and the common 
drinking-cup form the whole furniture, if we 
except a couple of stone water-jugs, half buried 
in the clay floor. 

Speaking of water reminds us that in Spanish 
towns water-carriers go about and sell water 
to families, for it is not supplied in pipes to 
houses as it is here. The water is carried in 
a cart or in a jar, or sometimes in a skin, and 
the passer-by may enjoy a cup of water in the 
street by paying a small sum. In Catalonia 
the common drinking-cup has a spout, and 
everyone drinks without touching it with his 
lips. They hold the cup rather high, and let the 
water or wine flow from the spout into their 
mouths. 

The houses in the old Moorish towns of Spain 
have beautiful gates, many of them gilt, and so 
finely made that they remind one of lace- work. 
Through these the passer-by obtains a glimpse 
of a sparkling fountain, orange trees, oleanders, 
bright flowers, and marble pillars, and many 
merry children at play in the patio. 

The patio (yard) is the favorite resort in the 
summer months of all the members of a Spanish 
family. 


SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 


131 


It has often a beautiful inlaid floor of Flor- 
entine marbles; it has no roof, except such as 
is formed by the balconies which, resting on 
marble pillars, and draped by rich awnings and 
curtains surround it on every side. Below these 
are the bedrooms and kitchens. The patio is a 
delightful, free, open space, where all the family 
can be together, and yet not interfere with each 
other; where the zambomba and the castanets, 
the mandolin and the guitar take turn and turn 
about; where Don Alfonso, the father, smokes 
his cigar, while Donna Juanita, the mother, fans 
herself, and where the little ninos and ninas 
play at ball or at skipping-rope, and feed the 
gold fish in the fountain-basin from the time 
their nurse gives them their breakfast till they 
are put to bed at night. 

The homes of the children in Portugal are the 
same as these, only the fronts of the houses, 
instead of being dazzlingly white, are made of 
tiles. 

The effect is prettier, but there are fewer 
balconies. After the breakfast, which consists 
of a cup of milk or chocolate and a biscuit, 
the children are sent to school. If the school be 
at some distance they ride on mules. Three or 
four boys sit on one animal, and the boy who 
acts as a mule-driver generally runs along by 
the side. 

The mules have all names, and the boy talks 
to them as he runs, speaking to them as if they 
were human beings. 


132 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


“Now Antonio/ ’ he says, “wliat has come 
into yonr stupid head? Don’t you know that 
the ninos must he at school by nine? Now, just 
hurry on, you lazy fellow; I’m ashamed of 
you ! ’ ’ 

The mule pricks up his ears and hurries on, 
as if conscious that in a case of learning he must 
exert himself; but if he comes to a nice dusty 
lane — and there are many such — he may feel 
inclined for a roll. 

Down he goes, and the ninos with him. Each 
one laughs, the mule enjoys it as well, and all 
have a good roll till the mule feels inclined to 
return to his duty, take up his burden again, 
and then trot along. 

But however much a mule may enjoy a roll, 
he is careful not to indulge in it on a mountain 
path or pass. There he is sedate and steady, 
looks neither to the right nor the left, but jogs 
along quietly, never making a slip or a false 
step. He walks near the edge of the path, 
because he usually has a pair of great baskets 
strapped on his back, and if he went too near to 
the steep rocks on the one side there would be 
no room for his burden. He has no fear of 
slipping over the deep, deep precipice on the 
other side, for he is sure-footed and careful. 
This the mountaineers know, and, placing their 
little children in one of the deep baskets, they 
often entrust them to the care of the boy mule- 
teer, whose daily duty it is to go from one moun- 
tain village to another. 


SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 


133 


What a happy ride the little ones have ! They 
are too young to know anything of the beauty 
of the snow mountains at the back, or the valley 
lying deep below them to the right, or the rocks 
and the bushes, and the rustic cross to the left; 
but they feel the pleasant mountain breeze, and 
the young muleteer laughs and plays with them, 
and the dog runs on before, and little Pedro 
smacks his mimic whip, and cries “Arre arre! 
(gee up! gee up!) to the mule, who does not 
think it worth his while to pay the least atten- 
tion to either whip or voice. 

The mountaineers and the muleteers place 
great faith in the cleverness of the mules; but 
this is not always the case with travelers. 

It is not long since an Austrian prince, trav- 
eling over the Spanish mountains, and observ- 
ing with some fear that his mule’s legs were 
quite at the edge of the precipice, called out 
to his guide — 

“ Hallo! my friend, will you look after your 
animal, or he and I will both be over the preci- 
pice before long!” 

4 'Don’t trouble yourself,” answered the 
guide, as he kept on smoking, “the beast has 
more sense than you!” His plain talk may not 
have been pleasant to the prince, but the mule- 
teer was loved in his own mountains and did 
not care. 

The schools are good, if not very numerous. 

Many of the old religious houses were changed 


134 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


into school-houses years ago, when the citizens 
turned the lazy monks and nuns, of whom they 
had grown tired, out of them. These are fine, 
roomy buildings ; one of them being large 
enough to be dining-room and school-room for 
nearly four hundred orphan boys. 

The school hours are from nine to twelve^ 
then a couple of hours are given for a second 
breakfast and recreation, after which school 
duties are taken up again and continue from 
two to four, unless in the hot days of summer. 

After four the children return home to dinner, 
which usually consists of fowl with rice, sweet 
potatoes, or pulchero, the national dish. This 
dish is composed of a piece of boiled beef, the 
wing of a fowl, a piece of Spanish pepper, bacon 
and vegetables, and a slice or two of ham. A 
bottle of wine for papa and mamma, lemonade 
or barley water for the children, and a dessert 
of oranges, with a green leaf on the stock to 
show that they have been freshly gathered, 
green figs, dates, almonds and grapes, finish the 
meal. 

After dinner the children play or dance, 
rattling their castanets to the sound of a guitar, 
or drive or walk with the parents on the 
Alameda (promenade). 

Sometimes the lads may meet in the orange- 
groves, and have a kind of fight w;th the fallen 
fruit. In our country a snow-balling match is 
the nearest approach to this amusement. The 


SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 


135 


oranges hurt considerably at times ; but, as you 
have read, the danger or pain does not deter 
the Spanish child from his play, even though 
he be injured by a knife. ‘ 4 Throwing things” 
has a great fascination for all boys in all 
countries. 

If the children do not dance or play at home, 
they go with their parents to the Alameda or 
promenade, where young and old, rich and poor, 
assemble to walk about and enjoy the cool of 
the evening. 

Here many pretty groups are formed of dons 
and donnas in their native costume, of children 
with their nurses, of , citizens and peasants with 
sandals, short petticoats, gay shawls, and black 
mantillas, of gypsies and beggars. 

As a rule it is the gypsies who are beggars in 
Spain. 

The Spaniard himself is too proud, and he 
never begs of a Spaniard. If he be very poor 
he may allow his children to ask alms of strang- 
ers, whom they are quick to recognize. 

“Oh, my dear caballero,” said a little fellow 
of six, running up to an Englishman, who was 
walking about the streets of a town, “oh, my 
dear caballero, I do love you so much!” 

So saying, the pretty little dark-eyed boy put 
his hand into that of the Englishman, and 
looked up smiling. 

“Why, my boy,” exclaimed the gentleman, 
flattered, but much astonished, “you never saw 


136 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


me before in yonr life ! Pray, why do you love 
met” 

‘ 4 Because I know you will give me some- 
thing/ ’ was the reply. 

“But,” said the stranger, “how do you know 
that!” 

“Because, because,” replied the child, seek- 
ing for a reason, ‘ ‘ because you have a red book 
under your arm . ’ 9 

The Englishman laughed, put his red-covered 
guide-book into one pocket and drew out of the 
other some quartos (small coins) to give to the 
boy. 

We shall now meet some of the strangest boys 
and girls of all the world — in the next chapter. 


Chapter XIII. 


KAFFIRS AND OTHER STRANGE 
PEOPLE. 

T HE Kaffirs, natives of central Africa, 
though savages, without books and 
without religion, have nevertheless an 
art. This is the art of music. Every family 
has at least one 4 ‘Doctor of Music.” Every 
little collection of families composes the songs 
of the tribe, both the words and the music, and 
teaches them to the people, special care being 
given to the children. But music is not the only 
refinement to which the small Kaffirs are accus- 
tomed from their babyhood. 

Their homes are of poles and of sticks, 
thatched with grass. Such a hut is built in a 
day, and often it is entirely grass and looks like 
a haystack, with a hole punched into it for the 
door. This opening is sometimes not more than 
sixteen inches wide and but little higher. The 
hut itself is between ten and thirty feet in diam- 
eter. In all tropical lands, as you know, there 
are two seasons. Instead of the Winter and 
Summer there are the rainy and dry seasons. 
During the rainy season a fire is built in the 
center of the dirt floor and at night the family 
sleep about this fire. That means, perhaps, 

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138 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


as many as forty people. The most popular 
game of the children is the building of small 
toy huts, much like our own amusement, with 
building blocks. A mere toddler will draw a per- 
fect circle on the ground, pile upon it the foun- 
dation of his toy house. Every Kaffir has a 
wonderful skill in drawing a circle, while, on 
the other hand, none of them can be taught 
to draw a square. The base lines of a Kaffir 
hut are always as true a circle as if they had 
been drawn with a compass. A Kaffir baby, 
when very young (two or three weeks old per- 
haps), is put into a bag-like sling of skin and 
tied to its mother’s back, and so goes wherever 
she, in her busy day’s life, goes. On the whole, 
it has a very snug, soft nest, for the fur part 
of the skin is put next to the baby, whose legs 
are fastened above its mother’s waist; its arms 
are secured around her neck. Baby’s head is 
well plastered with grease and is never covered 
with anything else. But no Kaffir baby ever 
gets a sunstroke. Its parents, however, who 
cannot stand the sun, are often seen carrying a 
parasol of ostrich feathers or a tree-branch. 
There are few sights which would seem to us 
more funny than a great naked Kaffir walking 
proudly along beneath a very wobbly umbrella 
of ostrich feathers — feathers as undressed as 
himself. 

When a Kaffir baby is a few months old it 
rides on its mother’s hip. As soon as it can 


KAFFIRS 


139 


stand at all, it is put down and left to toddle 
about alone. The Kaffir baby three days after 
it is born is given as much sour mill: as it will 
swallow. When it is older, it is fed upon sweet 
milk, and never again, till it becomes a man or 
woman, is it allowed to taste sour milk, for this 
is considered a great delicacy and the grown- 
ups take all there is. The Zulus are the most 
hospitable of all the Kaffir race. Often twenty 
or thirty self-invited guests will gather about 
the huge steaming pot. Very often it happens 
they are all strangers of the host, but they are 
all welcome, nevertheless. They squat about 
the Melee pot, men, women, and children, and 
wait their turn for the spoon. There is only 
one spoon, no matter how large the number of 
guests, and it passes slowly from hand to hand, 
or rather from mouth to mouth, around and 
around the circle until the meal is finished. 
The Kaffirs, though savage, have their 4 ‘table 
manners * 9 and are very careful to observe them. 
The porridge must be cooked and served hot in 
a three-legged pot. The spoon must be large, 
made of wood, and never by any chance allowed 
to stand up in the food. If it is, the porridge 
will be considered unwholesome. If we watch 
a dozen groups of children playing at “ dinner ’ * 
in the sand, with a splinter or shoot of sugar- 
cane to represent the spoon, not once will we 
see it stand up in the sand, which in their game 
takes the place of porridge. 


140 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The Zulus are the champion snuff-takers of 
the world. Every meal is followed by taking 
snuff, which really takes more time than the 
meal itself. The babies, who are so young that 
they can hardly stand alone, after eating all 
they can of the porridge gather about the 
family snuff-box and use its tickling contents 
until they nearly sneeze their round, gleaming 
heads off. They use the snuff with great cere- 
mony. The Kaffirs do not scold their children. 
The child obeys if he likes ; if he does not, the 
parents shake their heads lazily and laugh. But 
there are a few things which every Kaffir child 
must learn, whether he wants to or not. They 
all learn the laws of their tribes by heart and 
most exactly. As they have no books or letters, 
this is the only way their laws can be kept from 
year to year. This branch of the little Kaffir’s 
education is never neglected. 

The children are apt to fight. Even the girls 
have frequent fights among themselves. They 
fight to the bitter end. But Zulu children are 
not revengeful. They fight fiercely, it is true, 
but, the fight finished, it is entirely forgotten 
or else remembered pleasantly. The children 
must make their own toys. The boys make 
small cows from wood or clay. They mark out 
their own little cattle-pens on the ground, make 
villages from little twigs, and people them with 
clay figures which they form. Most Kaffir chil- 
dren are very clever in moulding human and 
animal figures out of clay. 


KAFFIRS 


141 


The Zulu mother is usually named after her 
oldest child with the prefix “ma,” which, of 
course, means mother. The natives always 
called Mrs. Livingstone, whose oldest child was 
named Robert, 4 ‘ Ma-Robert. ’ ’ When a Kaffir 
woman leaves a very young child for more than 
a few moments, she always performs some 
charm to protect it from evil until her return. 
According to the tribe to which she belongs, 
she rubs clay on its head, or sprinkles it with 
milk. The children are very fond of asking 
questions and very graceful in their movements. 
The girls are wonderful water-carriers. A 
small black maiden will hurry along carrying 
on her head a jug or vase almost as big as 
herself, and brimful of water ; up hill and down 
dale she goes swiftly, very swiftly, but she 
never spills a drop. The Kaffirs have peculiar 
ways of driving oft the hungry elephants which 
appear at nightfall and attack the well-cared- 
for fields of grain. Noise is the chief and most 
effective weapon used against them. We have 
been told, though we hardly believe it, at such 
times the Kaffir mothers often beat their chil- 
dren to make them cry and shriek to help scare 
off the elephants. 

The Kaffirs are very thrifty. The boy begins 
very early to save. He buries his money and 
valuables in the jungle. When he has collected 
enough he buys a cow, and when he has been 
able to buy six cows he buys a wife. There is 


142 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


a large difference, of course, between six and 
twelve cows, but both the quality of the cows 
and quality of the girl are to be considered. 
When a girl baby is born there is much rejoic- 
ing, for a man’s wealth is often counted by the 
number of his daughters and of his cattle. But 
in justice to even a savage, we must say that 
the Kaffir girl is never sold as a wife to any 
man against her will. The Kaffir kings (and 
each tribe has its own king) have their choice 
of all the maidens of the nation, and any girl 
who meets the king’s selection knows that her 
father will be paid for her ten times the usual 
rate. During a Kaffir courtship the maiden 
visits the man, never he the girl. Unless she 
can walk ten or twenty miles to be wooed, and 
then home again and do it day after day, her 
chances of being married are very slim. All 
peoples, we have seen, have their festivals and 
holidays, and the Kaffirs are no exception. The 
Zulus have a great festival every year in which 
the children take part and to which they look 
forward with the greatest interest and excite- 
ment. The king gives a large feast, followed 
by dancing, shouting and singing. 

There is a very curious race in Africa who 
are dwarfs. The very tallest one among them is 
hardly more than four feet high. Their hair 
grows in little tufts or bunches all over their 
heads, and the men as well as the women let 
it grow all their lives. 



Full-grown Pigmies of Africa. 















































































































KAFFIRS 


143 


The children are the funniest little things 
you ever saw. If you were to go near them 
they would huddle together like a pack of dogs 
and hide their heads. The mothers of these 
little pigmies look almost like babies themselves. 

Although they are so small, they are full of 
daring and courage, and we find it very wise 
to become friends with them at once. 

Their houses are like bee-hives, for they 
gather small branches and bend them over into 
a curved roof, fastening the ends in the ground. 
The doorway is so low that one has to creep in 
on one’s hands and knees. The question of 
clothing doesn’t bother them very much, as 
their only garment is an apron made of palm 
leaves. 

These queer little people have a very easy 
time of it, but I hardly think you would care 
to live as they do. They have no music or 
musical instruments, except striking a bow with 
an arrow to keep time while they dance, and 
they have no idea of tunes or songs. They 
have no bread, and sometimes do not even roast 
the meat which they kill. Having no matches, 
you may wonder how they light a fire. They 
search the ground until they find two pieces 
of flint and strike them together to get sparks, 
just as nearly all the earliest races had to do. 

They are extremely honest. The little boys 
and girls would not touch any of your toys or 
playthings, even if they had an opportunity to 
run off with them. 


144 CHILDEEN OF ALL NATIONS 


The little boys and little girls, although so 
very, very small, are able to shoot their arrows 
straight to the mark, and can shoot one, two 
and three arrows in succession so rapidly that 
the third one leaves the bow before the first one 
drops to the ground. If they travel through 
the forest and a little boy sees a cluster of 
bananas hanging on a tree, but not yet ripe, 
he shoots his arrow into the center of the cluster 
as a sign that when it ripens it shall be picked 
by him alone. 

These tiny children fish in a way that would 
make you ashamed to use a hook or a trolling- 
spoon. They tie pieces of meat to the ends of 
their lines and dangle them in the water. You 
would think it silly to expect to catch anything 
in such way as that, but they are so clever, 
and so skillful, and they give such quick pulls 
just at the right moment, that they land fish 
after fish in a very few minutes. 

MALAY BOYS AND GIRLS. 

In New Guinea, the largest island in the 
world, the houses of natives are often built upon 
poles, near or projecting over the water. The 
floors are made of boards, and the houses are 
covered with grass. In fact, they are very like 
our dove-cotes in appearance. The people 
climb up by means of a rough ladder. In most 
parts of New Guinea the houses are about nine 
feet from the ground. 


MALAY BOYS AND GIRLS 


145 


The little children are carried in net-work 
bags upon their mothers’ shoulders, by a kind 
of strap which is passed across the forehead. 
As soon as the children can walk they are made 
to carry loads and light burdens to or from 
the fields. There is a great deal of work done 
in some parts of New Guinea ; in others hunting 
is the chief occupation. The children run about 
without any clothes until they are a year or 
two old, and even for some time after that 
they have not much dress, but they paint them- 
selves and wear feathers. When the children 
are very young they are left hung up in their 
little net-cradles just as the Indian baby is in 
his cradle of bark. 

These New Guinea children are now taught by 
missionaries in places ; but they have very 
little, if any, religion, and grow up almost wild. 
Quarrels are rare amongst them; and though 
we cannot call the people “ civilized,” they are 
not savages. The children are taught to work, 
to hunt, and fish. The men provide the food, 
which the women cook. The boys and girls 
have no education but working, and no young 
man may marry until he can find a house, and 
is able to sustain his wife in it. 

The children who live in Malacca, the end of 
the Malay peninsula, are, like most Malay chil- 
dren, very pretty. They are brought up in the 
Mohammedan religion, and they are taught to 
write in the Arabian character. You will be glad 

IO 


146 CHILDBEN OF ALL NATIONS 


to hear that Malay children are very fond of 
pets. Their fathers and mothers wish them to 
become acquainted with animals, so you will 
find the young Malay with many pets, par- 
ticularly birds, which the children catch with 
bird-lime, and tame. The animals are not 
afraid of them at all, for the children are kind, 
and seldom, if ever, tease and torment them, 
as more civilized children often do. 

The young Malays generally keep a baboon 
as a pet, and when they want any cocoa-nuts 
Mr. Monkey is sent up to the top of the tree 
to pick and throw down the fruit. Villages, 
called “Kampings,” are built in the woods, so 
the baboon has not far to go. 

The children pass their lives very quietly, 
instructed, when practicable, like all Mussul- 
man nations, and worship accordingly. They 
learn the Koran after the manner of the chil- 
dren of Turkistan — when they learn anything 
at all — and what little they are taught is in 
an almost unknown tongue. 

The children are freqeuntly full of fun, and 
good-tempered, but when they grow up they 
are very jealous, and one will sometimes get 
terribly angry, and stab at every one as he 
goes until he is killed. 

But the young folk of Malacca are quiet and 
inoffensive, and though they have not many 
advantages, they are brought up to reverence 
their elders, to be kind to all dumb creatures, 


MALAY BOYS AND GIRLS 


147 


and to practice religion according to their 
lights. 

The children of Central Asia have very 
little time as children. When we tell you that 
a girl is at eighteen almost an old woman, 
and that the law permits marriage at nine 
years old, you will see that there is not much 
chance for play or childish amusement. 

The people are Mussulmans or Mohammed- 
ans, and their sacred rites we need not describe. 
When a child is born, if a boy, the father 
buries a mutton-bone under the floor. If the 
child be a girl, a rag doll is buried in a similar 
place opposite the door of the room in which 
the child is born. The little baby has no shirt 
on for four days, and when nine days have 
passed grandmamma brings a cradle in which 
the child is strapped on a “bed of barley.’ ’ 
These are curious customs. The parents are 
congratulated, and friends come with birthday 
presents. Then the light which has been burn- 
ing near the child to keep off evil spirits, or 
“evil eyes,” is removed, and the child remains 
in its little cradle while the feasting proceeds, 
for there are two feasts in the case of a boy, 
and one when the child is a girl. 

The child undergoes certain ceremonies which 
are common in the East; and when its hair is 
first cut the hair is put in a balance with gold 
and silver, and when the proper weight is 
reached, the sum of money is handed to the poor 


148 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


in charity. After forty days have passed the 
Tnrkistan baby is carried out in the streets, 
but never till the forty days have expired, for 
fear of evil happening. 

At six years old, or earlier, the children are 
sent to their lessons at elementary schools, 
where they read alond when they have learned 
the alphabet and the Koran by heart. At about 
the age of sixteen the father of a lad begins to 
think it is time he got married. 


Chapter XIV. 

ITALY. 

L AND of music and song, of art and ruins, 
of gentle breezes and glorious skies ; and 
more than all else, the land of beautiful 
children. In no other country are little boys 
and girls more free to roam in the sunshine or 
more tenderly loved. Let us begin this chapter 
then by describing the Italian nursery. And 
when we say 4 ‘ nursery’ ’ what a vision of cosy, 
pleasant, homelike rooms at once suggests itself 
to us, with their bright picture-papered walls, 
on which • 4 Jack, the Giant Killer,’ ’ “Cinderella 
and her Sisters,” “Hop-o’-my-thumb and the 
Ogre, ” “ Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, ’ ’ 
all live side by side in peace. Nurseries with 
their cheerful fires and high brass fenders, their 
cushioned rocking chairs and their low stools, 
their chintz curtains of odd patterns and bright 
colors, their great rocking-horses, their toys, 
and all their many games! 

It is true that not every child has a nursery 
even in our dear country. The cold cellar, the 
cheerless attic, the damp steps under the arch 
by the river, the old broken-down hut, the still 
more broken-down shed, where the cold, and the 
wind, and the rain get in at will, are the only 

( 149 ) 


150 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


nurseries that many children know, the only 
recollection of childhood they will have in after 
years. For poverty is found in all countries and 
the children of the poor know little about com- 
forts, though they are often as happy as those 
of the rich. But the nursery of the Italian 
child! What is it like? Has it pictured walls, 
its comforts, its joys, and its games? Yes and 
no. Its ceiling is the deep blue sky, its walls are 
pictured by the white-blossoming almond tree, the 
olive, the mulberry, or the still, dark cypress ; its 
toys are the butterflies, the birds, and the golden 
rose-beetles ; its floor is a wondrous inlaid work 
of sunshine and warm soft shadows ; or the child 
may be seated upon a portion of ruined wall, 
held by its parent, who has little else to do. 
Nature herself has prepared and decorated and 
warmed the nursery for her southern child, and 
it is just as well that she has done so, for Italy 
is poor, and we should have to look far and wide 
before we found anything like an American nur- 
sery in its small and dirty cottages. 

Even the palaces are gloomy and dark, with 
thick walls and small windows; and the rich 
baby in its costly cradle of carved wood, with 
silken hangings, is no happier than the poor 
washerwoman’s child, who, with a clothes-bas- 
ket for a cradle, crows and laughs by the river- 
side, while its mother beats the linen before she 
dips it into the stream; or the fisherman’s 
baby, who lies upon a heap of nets by the sea- 


ITALY 


151 


shore; or the mountain-child, whose cradle is a 
wisp of straw, placed on the stone steps before 
the door of its father’s hut; or the children in 
the market who sleep amid the noise and bustle. 

Yes, Nature has done well to provide a very 
beautiful nursery for the child of Italy, one 
which all must use; and she has thought of 
water for baths as well, though few there think 
of bathing. 

In the mountain villages the children grow 
up, unwashed and uncombed, among their play- 
mates, the funny little black, smooth-skinned, 
long-legged pigs, which, with the chickens and 
ducks, seem to think the house and its surround- 
ings their own, and act as if they owned it. 

A foreign gentleman was once wandering 
among the mountains in the early morning. A 
boy of about twelve, with bright black eyes and 
curly hair, came singing along the mountain 
path. All Italians sing — boys and girls, men 
and women, well fed or hungry, happy or sad. 
The Italian proverb says : — 

“ If I sing the whole day I’m without bread, 

And if I don’t sing I’m without bread still.” 

So what’s the use, thinks the Italian, of mak- 
ing matters that are bad worse? He sings in 
spite of his troubles. 

This boy was tall and slender, and looked very 
picturesque in his faded brown jacket, his old 
knee-breeches, and dirty sandals. He swung a 


152 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


stick liis hand, and what remained of an ancient 
felt hat, hound by a red ribbon, was placed 
jauntily on his curly locks. The mountain 
breeze played with the open collar of his shirt, 
and blowing it aside left his neck and chest bare. 

The gentleman watched the lad approach, and 
thought what a pretty picture he would make; 
but as he came nearer the shirt looked so dirty, 
and there was such a paste of grime on the 
boy’s face and breast that his opinion began 
to change. Nearer and nearer the boy came, 
and dirtier and dirtier he looked. At last the 
gentleman could keep silence no longer. 

“Halla, my man,” cried he in Italian, “Did 
you ever wash yourself?” 

The boy looked up in surprise, but not at all 
ashamed. 

“Wash?” said he, as if the idea that one could 
wash occurred to him then for the first time; 
“giammai, signore, giammai !” (“never, sir, 
never!”) 

When the hot summer months are over the 
inhabitants of the mountain villages come down 
to the towns, especially to Rome, to earn money 
by singing, or as models for artists. 

Such is the child-life of a large class in Italy, 
a shade better, though, than the life of the 
bandit’s child. A bandit or brigand is one who 
makes his living by robbing travelers. 

There are few of the old-fashioned bandits 
remaining in Italy at this time, but their chil- 


ITALY 


153 


dren are much to be pitied, for they have no 
chance at all in the wild, lawless life that the 
brigands lead of learning anything good, or of 
escaping an outlaw’s fate. 

The brigand, however, is very fond of his 
children, and it is singular to see that, though 
he has no ties of religion and law with regard 
to himself, he desires them above everything 
else for his child. 

Some years ago an old priest was traveling 
from one village to another. It was dusty and 
hot, and the way was long. The priest was 
glad on looking back to see that a peasant 
woman, seated in her donkey-cart, was coming 
that way. Of course the woman asked the priest 
to take a seat in her cart, and, of course, he 
very willingly consented. At a turn of the road 
three robbers sprang out of the thicket. 

“The Madonna has sent you to us,” said 
one of the rogues, in a pious tone of voice. 4 4 Do 
not fear, worthy father ; come down and go with 
us.” 

It was all very well to say 4 4 Do not fear,” 
but the poor priest did fear, and the peasant 
woman shivered in her sandals. Still there was 
nothing for it but to obey. 

After three hours ’ wandering through woods 
and over mountain paths, they came to a small 
open space or plateau, where a group of bandits 
awaited them, one of whom held a little child 
in his arms. 


154 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


“ Worthy father,’ ’ said he, approaching the 
priest and showing him the child, 4 ‘this is my 
son, and I wish him to become a Christian. 
Christen him or yon shall be hanged. ’ 7 

Yon may imagine that the worthy priest made 
what haste he conld to christen the baby. It 
received a long row of liigh-sonnding names, 
beginning with Michael Angelo and ending with 
Giuseppe. 

When the ceremony was over, the bandit- 
father presented the priest with a purse of gold, 
the woman with a pair of costly earrings, and 
then both were led back to the turn of the road, 
where the donkey was munching thistles by the 
wayside, not troubling itself about the delay 
so long as thistles were to be found. 

Sometimes the bandits will even have their 
child christened in church. 

On such occasions they descend in a body to 
one of the mountain villages, and force the 
priest to christen the child. The priest and the 
villagers are, as a rule, so frightened that they 
do all that they are told, but they have generally 
no cause to complain. The brigand is at such 
times a gentleman ; he fires salutes in the village 
streets in honor of the event, throws money on 
all sides, and pays for barrels of wine, which 
priest and villagers drink without asking where 
it came from. 

All Italians rejoice at a child’s birth. First, 
because they love all young, soft, tender things. 


ITALY 


155 


Besides there are a thousand curious reasons 
why every new-born baby (no matter into how 
crowded a cradle) gets a hearty welcome. They 
believe the end of the world to be near at hand, 
but that no children will be born within seven 
years of this great event, therefore, each birth 
means at least seven years more of life. 

The christening ceremonies are entered into 
with the greatest pleasure by all who know the 
parents. After the baptism and sacraments 
are over, the baby is passed around for all to 
kiss and with each kiss a coin is tucked tightly 
into the folds of the baby’s many swaddling 
clothes. The coins are not large, but are always 
gladly given. Best of all, no name goes with 
them, and because of them baby leaves the 
place a person of property. 

The poor children at home do not have too 
much to eat, but no doubt they enjoy what they 
get. Polenta , the favorite Italian dish, is very 
simple, and to our taste not very good. It is 
made in this way: A pan of water is placed 
on the fire, and a quantity of flour, with a little 
salt, is stirred into it for some time till it 
hardens to a yellow-looking mass, when it is 
turned out onto a board. The father of the 
family then takes a piece of twine, and by means 
of it measures the cake into equal portions, 
one for each member of the family. A very 
small piece of cheese made from sheep’s milk 
is given to each child to eat with his polenta, 


156 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


and that is his principal meal. Now and then, 
if it be the patron saint’s day of little Antonio, 
or Guiseppe, or Giulia, the mother fries a few 
slices of liver in lard, but it is seldom that 
such luxuries are indulged in. Macaroni is a 
favorite food with the Italians, and is familiar 
to us all. 

So terribly poor are some of the fathers and 
mothers that they leave their little ones at a 
convent where foundlings are cared for. If the 
mother leaves with it any special mark, such 
as a ribbon, a broken coin, or a peculiar gar- 
ment, that mark is carefully saved by the nuns. 
The years go by and if the parents find that 
they can now support it, they claim the child, 
and prove their ownership by the other half 
of the coin or bit of ribbon. The parents never 
send their babies away in this manner unless, 
indeed, there is no room in the house for them, 
and the cake of polenta is all too small for the 
mouths it has to fill. 

Such is the life of the children of the very 
poor, and they form in Italy by far the largest 
class. Then there are the children of the 
families which were noble and were rich once, 
but have become poor. They are much to be 
pitied. Too proud to work, too poor to study, 
they lead a lazy life, always wishing for the 
good turn of fortune which never comes. 

Our little Italian cousins do not give or 
receive their Christmas presents until Twelfth 


ITALY 


157 


night, nor do they have onr kind of Christmas 
tree, but they have very good times you may 
be sure, just the same. 

In Lent buns are eaten, which the children 
are very fond of, called maritozze, made of the 
kernels of the pine-cone mixed with oil and 
sugar. On St. Joseph’s Day there are the 
doughnuts, made of flour and rice fried in oil 
or lard. At Easter there are eggs; in May a 
kind of mixed cake cut in rings, and ornamented 
with fine red tassels. At Christmas, when they 
hail the coming of the holy Christ-child, the 
Italian children eat torone and pan giallo. 
Torone is a hard candy made of honey and 
almonds, and covered with crystallized sugar. 
Pan giallo is a mass of plums, citron, almonds, 
sugar, pine-seeds, and pistachio, all made up 
into a tight, tough mass. 

But the great festival of the year is the 
Carnival, when the streets are full of clowns, 
giants, and dwarfs with immense noses and 
laughing masks, and men with bear, dog, and 
donkey heads; when boys and girls may be as 
mischievous as they please, and play all kinds 
of tricks on any one they choose without any- 
one getting angry ; when bouquets and bonbons, 
sometimes flour and eggs, are thrown from bal- 
cony to balcony; when the laughing and shout- 
ing have no end; when everyone is merry, no 
one is cross. Ah ! then I think all children would 
like to be in Italy, if it were only to dress up 
in a masked array and to join in the great fun. 


Chapter XV. 

EGYPT AND THE BARBARY STATES. 

O NCE upon a time, 0 youth, when Rhodopis 
(the rosy-cheeked one) was bathing in 
the waters of our sacred Nile, a mighty 
eagle espied her little red slippers lying on the 
banks of the river, and he seized them with his 
beak, carried them to the palace, and laid them 
at the feet of the king. And the wonder-gift 
found favor in the eyes of the monarch, who 
proclaimed it to be his sovereign will that the 
owner of the red slippers, and none other, 
should become his queen. And all the ladies of 
Egypt essayed to thrust their feet into the tiny 
red slippers, but they fitted none but Rhodopis, 
the rosy-cheeked one, and she became queen, 
and reigned in the land.” Thus relates the old 
turbaned Egyptian, as, sitting cross-legged on 
his seat, with his jars around him, he awaits 
customers for the sweet, delicious waters of the 
Nile, and the little Egyptian boy who stands 
near, listens with just as deep interest as our 
little folks do when nurse relates to them the 
old fairy-tale of Cinderella, which had its origin 
in this old, old Egyptian legend. 

The Egyptian child is fond of stories, of fairy 
tales, and of legends, but in this he is much like 
children in every part of the world. 

( 158 ) 


EGYPT 


159 


His land is the land of marvels in nature and 
marvels in art ; of the wondrous Nile, to whose 
yearly rise and fall his people owe their food; 
of the desert, with its waste of sand and its 
fair oases ; of the mirage, the wonderful picture 
of dome and castle and waving palm-groves 
which, with its phantom beauties, enchants and 
deceives the eye of the weary traveler in the 
vast wilderness; of the simoon, the hot scorch- 
ing wind that, raising the fine grains of sand, 
forms the sand column, fatal in its terrible 
progress to man and beast; of the gigantic 
pyramids and the strange sphinx; of ancient 
tombs and wide-spreading ruins of palaces, 
towers, and mighty cities. 

Yes, the land of Egypt is a land of wonders, 
a land of magicians and sorcerers, of boys and 
girls who grow up among these strange scenes, 
of veiled ladies and turbaned pashas, of beau- 
tiful mosques and palaces, mud huts and dirty 
hovels. 

As soon as an Egyptian child is born, the 
fears of his parents beset his path. The dread 
“evil-eye” may fall on him, and so he is left 
unwashed and undressed, and rendered as 
unlovely as possible, in the hope that this “ evil- 
eye” may pass him over and fail to notice him. 

Not content with leaving him unwashed, the 
mother blackens his forehead or his cheeks with 
soot or clay, or even covers him with a thick 
black veil in her anxiety to save him from 


160 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


imaginary ills; and friends and relations com- 
ing to visit him or his parents are careful to 
say: 4 4 What an ugly child! Why, he is a 
perfect fright!” To which strange compli- 
ments the smiling father and mother listen with 
pleasure, as they know that this form of speech 
is adopted to deceive their enemy. 

Poor deluded parents! Instead of saving 
their child from the 4 4 evil eye,” they give it to 
him, for the saddest thing is that the poor chil- 
dren, so neglected and dirty, fall victims to the 
disease, very common in Egypt, called ophthal- 
mia, and they often lose the sight of one eye, if 
they do not become, as in many cases, completely 
blind. The Egyptian woman anxiously waits for 
the day when her baby shall first see and notice a 
crocodile. All children are taught to gaze earn- 
estly upon every crocodile they see by chance; 
for the Egyptians believe that to see a crocodile 
brings luck, especially to the young. Many sick 
children are carried miles and miles that they 
may look upon one, since all Egypt knows that 
this will cure illness and sharpen the little one’s 
appetite. 

Not until the child of Moslem or Turk is one 
year old does he get his first washing; a Copt 
(ancient Egyptian) does not think it 4 4 lucky” 
to let a drop of water touch the baby until he 
is baptized. Then he is dipped in the water; 
but this dipping has to last him a long time. 
Does it not seem strange to us! 

The Copts of the Egyptian race are one of 


EGYPT 


161 


the most unique peoples on earth. They are 
the unmixed and unchanged descendants of the 
Egyptians, who lived when the Pyramids were 
built, thousands of years before the Christian 
era. They have their own church, avoid all 
other creeds, and never marry out of their own 
race and church, and so have preserved to a 
wonderful degree the look and manners of their 
ancestors. They look startingly like the men 
and women carved upon the ancient tombs and 
temples. The children are queer looking little 
objects, with very thin arms and legs and we 
must say it, remarkably fat paunches. 

And what is the cradle of a little fellah ?* 

Y r ou would guess a long time before you found 
the right answer, and yet it is a very appro- 
priate one, suiting its home to its surroundings, 
and its own dirty condition. In the summer- 
time it is the mud outside of the house, in the 
winter-time it is the mud inside of the house. 
The hut itself is built of mud ; the roof is made 
of patches of mud plastered on rough beams, 
or of bundles of reeds ; windows there are none, 
furniture there is none, beds there are none. 
Sometimes the baby is wrapped up in its 
mother’s dirty burko (face-veil), and stowed 
away in a corner, but more frequently it has no 
clothing at all, or anything to serve as bed. 


* The fellaheen (plural of fellah) are the farmers, the cultiva- 
tors of the soil, the keepers of the cattle — in short, those who in many 
countries are called the peasants. 

H 


162 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The kitchen is a flag or stone outside the 
house, with a pan or two for the preparation of 
the simple food, which is conveyed to the mouth 
by means of the thumb and two fingers of the 
left hand, as knives and forks are things 
unknown. The right hand has to serve as din- 
ner-napkin. 

Comfortless, indeed, would the life of a little 
fellah be if the soft Egyptian air did not sur- 
round him, and the bright Egyptian sun look 
down upon him. They have no fear of rain in 
Egypt, for it rarely or ever falls. 

The houses of the richer fellaheen are com- 
posed of two or more courts, or yards, with 
rooms open at the top, or only partially roofed 
in with beams or reeds. One of these courts is 
destined for the cattle, the other for the family. 

All Egyptian children are kind to animals. 
The fellah boys and girls make pets, friends and 
playmates of the creatures of which they take 
care. Mohammed, to whom the Egyptians owe 
their religion, was fond of cats, and all his fol- 
lowers are also, cats being great favorites in 
Egypt. There was in former times a festival 
held at Bubastis, in the eastern part of the 
country, to the goddess Bast, or Sekhet, who 
was represented by the head of a cat, and to 
Bubastis mummies of favorite cats were sent 
for preservation. Sometimes even a cat was 
called Bubastis, but now its familiar name is 
Mau, or Mie, showing that the language of 


EGYPT 


163 


Egyptian cats is not unlike that of our own 
domestic pets. 

In Cairo there is to this day a home for needy 
cats; and it is still a popular belief that twin 
children change into cats at night if they go 
hungry to bed, and while their bodies are lying 
apparently sleeping at home, their cat-spirits 
are wandering abroad in search of food. There- 
fore, to be cruel to a cat, which may be a hungry 
boy or girl in disguise, is not to be thought of, 
and puss must of necessity be cared for, loved 
and respected. 

When the little fellah has outgrown caring 
for and playing with the cat, he finds play fel- 
lows in the clumsy buffaloes, which he rides to 
and from the stream ; or he plays with the calf 
buffaloes on the banks of the river. Then he 
is sent to one of the Arab schools, to learn to 
read and recite the Koran and write a little. 
After that he must begin to work for his living, 
either in the cotton-fields or at the dams and 
dykes that are built to keep the waters of the 
Nile from overflowing the whole country; or he 
helps to sow the seeds when the water has gone 
down again; or serves as a donkey-boy in the 
streets of the different towns to take strangers 
about; the donkeys taking the place in Egypt 
of our cab or street car. 

The donkey-boys begin their daily work with 
much noise, shouting and quarreling. They 
generally pick up some foreign words and 


164 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


phrases, and think themselves very clever if 
they make use of them. The donkey bears a 
foreign name, to begin with. 4 4 J ack Sprat ! hoo ! 
good donkey! Take Jack Sprat !’ ’ 4 4 Ned Nog- 
gins ! sare ! fine donkey ! Take Ned Noggins ! ’ ’ 

Then when they have induced any 4 4 Franks ’ ’ 
(Europeans) to hire them and their donkeys, 
they wave their clubs and whoop and laugh and 
shout, to advise all foot-passengers of the 
danger they are in of being run over. 4 4 Take 
care!” they shout to a Frank, 44 Sakim!” to a 
Turk. 44 Ya kliawageh! Ya bint!” ( 44 You 
woman! you girl! out of the way!”) 44 Ya 
sheik!” ( 4 4 Mind, old man!”) 44 Yemeenek!” 
( 44 To the right!”) 44 Shimalek!” ( 44 To the 
left!”) So they' shout and screech to drown 
the voices of the small street vendors, their 
rivals in noise. 4 4 Honey ! oh honey ! ’ ’ sings out 
one of these latter. 4 4 Oh oranges! oh grapes, 
consolers of the mournful ! ” 44 Pips ! oh pips ! ’ 9 
(water melons) cries another. 4 4 Oh roses! 
blossoming from the sweat of the prophet! 
sycamore figs ! oh odors of paradise ! oh henna ! 
for the lovely finger tips of the youthful, for 
the hair of the aged, for the beautifying of the 
tails of steeds? oh henna!” 

The games which Arab children enjoy most 
are to us very serious. Throwing the ball, or 
two hoops, which are caught on ivory rods, 
has been a favorite pastime in all ages, but 
chess, draughts, and backgammon are the most 


EGYPT 


165 


common games. They all are fond of singing 
as they work, and in the villages and on the 
banks of the Nile the sound of a rude kind of 
drum is often heard, and the reed pipes, both 
single and double, sound very prettily along the 
river’s banks. 

Many poor boys in the cities earn their living 
as water sellers. Each carries a skin of water 
and a metal cup. For a very small coin you may 
drink the contents of a brimful cup, a^d if you 
give the little dark-skinned lad a coin even the 
value of a nickel he will gladly divide with the 
eager street crowd all the contents of his water 
skin. All the thirsty crowd will bless you before 
they drink, for you have done a pious deed, a 
deed blessed of Allah, for you have given to the 
weary and heavy-laden poor, water, without 
money and without price. 

The christening of a well-to-do Egyptian 
baby is attended by a most elaborate ceremony, 
expensive for everyone. An account of the fes- 
tivities reads much like the wedding celebra- 
tions in the Arabian Knights. Friends and 
enemies are feasted in the house and out in the 
garden and even in the streets. Wines, sweets, 
cigarettes, pipes, coffee, are handed about 
freely in all the nearby streets. Black servants 
carry trays of these and other refreshments, 
far and near, and urge them upon rich and 
poor. In the house there is a large banquet. 
Expensive musicians and dancing girls perform 


166 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


and Arab singers do their share in the entertain- 
ment of the guests. Though the father and 
mother be poor for years after as a 
result, nothing must be spared to celebrate 
properly the arrival of the much-loved baby in 
their home. 

There are many festivals. One is called the 
“ Abundance of the Nile/’ when the canal is 
cut to let the water of the river come through 
and cover the surface of the fields. This cere- 
mony takes place in Cairo, where everyone goes 
to see the “ Bride of the Nile” and the gay boat 
decorated with ribbons which is anchored near. 
The “ Bride of the Nile” is a pillar of earth, 
taking the place of the young girl who, it is 
said, used to be slain as an offering to the 
God of the river, and the boat represents that 
in which the victim was brought to the spot 
where she was to perish for the sake of her 
country. 

During the night a gun is fired every quarter 
of an hour from this boat, and fireworks are let 
off from time to time. The children feel very 
sleepy before it is all over, and you can scarcely 
see their black eyes for the dropping eyelids 
and the long dark lashes. 

Girls are generally given names of pretty 
meaning, as “ Gazelle,” “ Flower,” or “ Prin- 
cess.” Boys are frequently called “Gergas” 
(George), as St. George is the patron saint of 
the Copts. A strange custom is still kept up 


EGYPT 


167 


with regard to names. Three wax candles are 
lighted; to each a name is given, one belonging 
to a saint among them. The taper that burns 
the longest gives the child its name. 

Little as Egyptian children learn, as a rule, 
they are taught two very important things — 
great reverence for their parents and for the 
aged. This is much to be remarked alike in 
the country, where the fellaheen leave their 
little ones to grow up the best way they can, 
in the homes of the rich, in towns where the 
children are spoiled and pampered to their 
heart’s content, where the girls are brought up 
in idleness, waited upon by numbers of slaves, 
and where the boys are thought wonderfully 
clever if they can read and write, recite the 
Koran, and work out an ordinary sum. 

Children of Northern Africa, in the Barbary 
States, are of eight distinct races, the Kadyles, 
Arabs, Moors, Jews, Turks, Kologious, Negroes 
and Mozabites. The Arabs, the Jews and the 
Turks keep the same customs and same habits 
and live the same lives that they do wherever 
we may find them. 

The Mozabites lived for many years on the 
Sahara Desert, hut are now to be found in all 
the states and towns along the southern shore 
of the Mediterranean. The children are taught 
to farm and take care of their many camels and 
sheep. They are taught to chase the lion, 
gazelle and ostrich, which is their principal 


168 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


amusement and almost their only amusement, 
all except for the few chances they have of 
seeing the puppet shows in the Algerian towns 
and cities. Mozabite women have more liberty 
than any other Mohammedan women and the 
children are free to go everywhere with their 
mothers. They sit with them in the long quiet 
evenings on the housetops where the family 
gathers to sing with their soft gentle voices or 
to listen with breathless interest to a profes- 
sional story-teller. We have found in nearly 
every country in the south of Europe that these 
story-tellers are among the greatest delights 
the children have. We are sure that it would be 
nice to have them in this country, for it is more 
pleasant, we think, to have stories told to us 
than to read them for ourselves in a book. 

Ramadan is the Mohammedan’s Lent, and is 
celebrated just the same as in Turkey. The 
chief amusement for children, however, in 
Morocco and Algeria is the African Punch and 
Judy show. These shows are managed really 
very much like our own. The figures hit and 
kick each other, make love, and act in almost 
every way like a Punch and Judy in our land. 

The children laugh and cry, and enjoy it 
more than anything else they see. The chief 
actor plays one part, but wears many costumes. 

The children of this part of the world are 
taught that beautiful handwriting is of the 
greatest importance. Even the youngest boys 


EGYPT 


169 


can write and draw with wonderful ease and 
skill. Arithmetic is always taught, though not 
more than the most simple figuring; but the 
little Moors take to it naturally, for they are all 
born traders. A story is told of an old college 
professor who was spending a holiday in 
Algiers. He went into a native shop, and there 
a small ten-year old Moor, who had never gone, 
and who never would go beyond the Rule of 
Three, managed to cheat him out of at least ten 
cents, a big sum of money there. After his 
return to the hotel, it took the professor half 
an hour and a whole sheet of paper to figure it 
out. 

The Moorish boy finishes school when he 
is thirteen, but he seldom loses, or drops the 
friendship of his teacher. The boys and girls 
become very much attached to their school- 
masters, and it is unusual to see a Moorish man 
or woman married without the old teacher being 
present. He rarely scolds or has need to. The 
little children love him, and they are glad to do 
what he wishes them to. 

The schoolroom is small and quite open to 
the street, and though much is going on outside 
for the children to see and hear, they keep their 
minds upon their work and attend to nothing 
but their school and their lessons. 

The Kadyles live in all the mountains along 
the coast, from Tripoli to Morocco. Many of 
them tattoo a small Greek cross on the fore- 


170 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


heads of their children above the eyes. The 
reason they give for doing this is as follows: 
Many, many years ago (they say) a light-col- 
ored, warlike people came from the northern 
kingdoms, plundering and killing. But those of 
the Mohammedans were spared who had painted 
a cross on their foreheads. To this day the 
custom still lives. 

The Kadyles are very poor. Almost all that 
save anything hide it without telling anyone. 
Many of the children, when the parents die, 
are unable to find this little treasure, and are 
thrown upon the world and must make their 
way alone. They sleep in the open, go dn 
rags, and in every possible way save until they 
can gather together a hundred Boojoos.* The 
boy with this sum can buy a musket and afford 
to get married, and when he has a wife and a 
gun he is well set up in life, and perfectly 
satisfied. The Kadyle boy, as a rule, has one 
accomplishment, the only one. He plays the 
strange, weird, mysterious melodies of his race 
upon a peculiar wooden whistle. The music is 
very beautiful, but very sad. 

The boy, though dark when a baby, grows 
slightly darker in time; but the girl will never 
darken. In fact, the sun rarely touches her 
face, for she lives in shady gardens and dark- 
ened rooms and even when she does go into the 
street she is heavily veiled, and it is an every- 


* A small, native coin. 


EGYPT 


171 


day affair (but a sight, of course, for feminine 
eyes alone) to see a Moorish grandmother with 
the brilliant, clear, pink and white skin of a 
twelve-year-old maiden. 

The children of Barbary play well such 
games as chess and checkers, even when very 
young. On sunny afternoons you may see a 
group of eager-faced boys, brown-eyed Turks, 
soft-eyed Moors, strong-limbed Arabs and 
graceful Algerians gathered about a chess-board 
at which a Kadyle and negro boy are playing. 
All the tribes and nationalities forget their 
differences of religion, of habits and of life 
around a chess-board. Though they may not 
eat together, sleep together, walk or talk 
together on the streets, they do play chess 
together and praise each other’s skill and vic- 
tories with perfect impartiality. 

Before we say good-by to these mixed races 
of the Barbary States we must notice a very 
peculiar custom of the soldiers. They all can 
and do knit. They knit as they walk about the 
streets, they knit on duty, they knit whenever 
they change guard. Why, we cannot under- 
stand, for none of them wear stockings. 

The three things the Mohammedan is always 
taught to honor are his religion, his parents 
and crazy or insane people. The harmless 
madmen are thought by them to be inspired by 
divine powers and the worst little boy in 
Morocco will stop playing at the approach of an 


172 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


insane man and stand respectfully aside until 
the poor creature has gone past. Whatever he 
asks is given to him, and the poor little street 
Arab never dreams of refusing to do anything 
for him. 

All the boys are trained in music and many 
of them make their own instruments. As for 
the girls! The girls of the upper class are 
taught nothing but to dress and eat and smile. 
When they are twelve or younger they are 
fattened, for strange as it may seem to us, they 
think this a girl’s greatest attraction. Their 
faces, however, are very beautiful. Their 
bodies are fat and tattooed, but their eyes and 
cheeks and lips are as lovely as those, per- 
haps, of the girls of any other nation. 


Chapter XVI. 

TUEKEY AND ARABIA. 

‘ ‘ L salam aleikum 9 ’ ( “ Peace be with you ’ ’ ) , 

4 ‘ friends !” We are on our way to Con- 
stantinople to visit Turkish boys and 
girls, and it is proper that we should greet each 
other in Oriental fashion. 

Let us sail through the charming Isles of 
Greece to far-famed Constantinople. As we 
draw near, the gently sloping shores are dotted 
with beautiful palaces and parks, villas and 
gardens, ruins and modern palaces, kiosks and 
vineyards ; pine forests are at the back, and in 
front numberless graceful boats skim lightly 
over the water, or rest in small picturesque 
bays and creeks. As we pass one of these we 
see several Turkish children, with tasselled fez 
or cap, sitting cross-legged at the bottom of 
the boat, and lazily watching their negro ser- 
vant as he angles for fish. 

And now we come in sight of the first of the 
seven hills on which Constantinople, like Rome, 
is built; we can see the immense gilt crescent 
on the dome of the Mosque of Santa Sophia; 
we see hundreds of slender minarets or spires 
standing out against the blue sky; the domes 
and cupolas of mosques and monuments glisten 

( 173 ) 


174 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


in the sun’s rays; groups of dark cypresses rise 
here and there in solemn height. We see the 
city before us in all its beauty as we turn into 
the famous harbor of the Golden Horn, with 
its forest of masts. 

A few moments more and we are in the Tur- 
kish capital, only to find that it, like many other 
cities, places, and things, looks best when seen 
from a distance. Now we are in it, we find it far 
from beautiful. The streets are narrow; the 
windows that look into them are latticed and 
barred ; great ugly dogs lie stretched across the 
path, and do not dream of moving either at 
the kick of the Christian or the “Uscht!” 
(“Out of the way!”) of the Turk. 

There is a great deal of noise, and yet a 
general air of laziness. The water-bearer and 
the porter are the busiest ; but their faces, like 
the faces of all we meet, are grave and have a 
strange lack of expression. Even the little 
pasha’s child of seven looks as if he had the 
burden of fifty years on his young head, and 
answers the formal greetings made to him with 
a weary air. 

But listen! Ah! here at last are the joyous 
voices of children! What a relief! We look 
round and see a merry troop of them coming. 
A number of boys are escorting one of their 
number, who is going for the first time to 
school. It is his sixth birthday. The children 
are all wearing their very best clothes to do him 


TURKEY AND ARABIA 


175 


honor. The little fellow is mounted on a horse 
or donkey, and as this is a very special occasion, 
his comrades drop their usual seriousness, and 
sing and shout as they lead him to the seat of 
learning. It is a day he has looked forward to 
for years, though he seems to get very little 
enjoyment from his school life after all. 

The school house is, as a rule, built near a 
mosque. Inside it is very plain and simple. 
There is a blackboard hanging from the ceiling 
by means of strings made from the fibres of 
the palm tree, a board for books and slates, 
one for water-jugs, one for the master’s pipe, 
a mat in the middle of the floor, or a divan 
or a couch at the side of the wall, perhaps a 
globe, and these are all. No school books are 
to be seen, and no desks with ink and paper, 
slate and pencil. 

The master, dressed in a flowing white robe 
and green turban, sits cross-legged on the mat 
or divan; the children, cross-legged likewise, 
form a semicircle, and as they learn, sway their 
bodies backwards and forwards, as this move- 
ment is thought to assist the memory. All 
learn aloud and at once, so that the noise is 
heard at some distance. 

The master has a long palm cane in his hand, 
to enable him to give a gentle reminder from 
time to time, without the trouble of rising, to 
all who are not paying attention. 

The book that is used is the Koran, the holy 


176 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


book of the Turks, and the studious boy is 
expected to copy it out, and learn it off by 
heart. A little writing, less arithmetic, and 
still less geography, if any, complete the course 
of education. 

Sometimes in the hottest weather, school is 
held out of doors, and the Koran in its stand 
is carefully carried to be placed in the shade 
while the teacher and pupils gather around it. 

“ Never do to-day what you can put off till 
to-morrow, ’ ’ is a maxim with all Turks ; and a 
Turkish father is, as a rule, too lazy himself to 
take much trouble about his child. 4 ‘The child 
does not want to learn, what can I do?” he 
exclaims. 

The walls of their houses are painted white, 
the ceiling red, yellow, or blue; the floors are 
inlaid; divans and couches supplied with any 
number of cushions, are ranged along the wall; 
a mat or two is laid on the floor; there are few 
mirrors, and no pictures or statues, for these 
are forbidden by the Koran. 

As the boy enters, his mother comes to 
meet him. 

“My life!” says she, “how glad I am to see 
you! Fatima! Jussuf! come! your brother is 
here. Take care of the baby, kuzum” (my 
lamb). 

This last warning is necessary, for if the 
swaddled baby does not happen to be lying in 
its hammock near the open window, or sleeping 





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TURKEY AND ARABIA 


177 


in its curiously-shaped cradle, he looks like a 
bundle lying on the floor. He makes an odd 
picture. His head is encased in a cap of red 
silk, a tassel of seed pearls hang down at one 
side. Several charms are fastened to the tassel. 
He must feel very uncomfortable, for his arms 
and legs have been straightened out and bound 
tight with bandages. Over all his little body is 
generally spread a thin veil, especially when 
strangers are in the house. Soon after he was 
born his father had taken him very tenderly in 
his arms and after a short prayer had whis- 
pered his name three times and that was all the 
christening he had ever received. 

Fatima and Jussuf come. They are pretty 
children, with long black hair, arranged in 
plaits and intertwined with pearls. In rich 
families strings of pearls hang also from the 
crown of the fez; but rich families in Turkey 
are becoming scarce, and pearls are rarer than 
they once were. Many of the Turkish children 
are now dressed in European fashion, but 
Jessuf and Fatima still wear the Turkish dress. 

The boy wears a long coat or caftan, trousers, 
and fez or tasseled cap. The girl has very 
wide drawers, a long dress, caught up at the 
side by the belt, and pretty embroidered 
slippers. 

And now that Fatima and Jussuf are wel- 
coming their brother, and all three are admiring 
the baby, with its wreath of artificial flowers, its 


12 


178 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


blue beads, and its other charms, we will take 
the opportunity of describing some of the daily 
customs of the family. 

All rise early, and after the washing of hands 
and face, repeat a short prayer. Then parents 
and children retire to rest again for a cpuple of 
hours, leaving servants and slaves to put the 
house in order and prepare the coffee. After 
coffee they wait again two hours for break- 
fast. Though it has been hours since she got 
up, the mother is still wearing her wadded 
night-dress. “It is so comfortable, ’ ’ she thinks, 
“why should I hurry to dress myself for the 
day?” 

Before breakfast a queer basin is brought 
by a slave or servant. In the middle is a little 
stand holding a cake of soap, while beneath 
is a sort of well to hold the water as it runs 
out of the basin. The hands are held out while 
another servant slowly pours water over them. 
“Wash before eating and afterwards” is a 
law of the Koran, and no matter how much 
little boys and girls wish to hurry out to play, 
they must not leave their seats until their hands 
have been bathed. To them it would seem as 
wicked to neglect this rule as to tell a false 
story or to steal. 

Soon after sunset they have evening prayer 
and the family takes dinner. If the father has 
friends he dines with them and his boys in 
the selamlik (the more public rooms of the 


TURKEY AND ARABIA 


179 


house), the ladies and daughters having their 
dinner in the haremliJc (the private rooms set 
apart for the women) ; but if there are no vis- 
itors the family dine together. 

Dinner is served on a kind of table or stool, 
about a foot high. Trays are placed on it, 
with bread, ivory spoons for food which cannot 
be picked up with the fingers, and horn spoons 
for fluids. There are little porcelain plates 
containing caviar, olives, cheese and preserves, 
besides leather saucers, on which the dishes 
are placed one after the other, several persons 
eating from the one dish. 

The favorite dishes are borok, a pie filled with 
cheese, and pilaf, made of minced and spiced 
mutton, with pistachio nuts. One long dinner- 
napkin passed round the tray serves for all. 
The evening is spent in singing and listening to 
tales — a very favorite amusement; and at 10 
o ’clock the mattresses and coverlets are brought 
out of cupboards and presses, where they are 
kept during the day, and are spread on the 
floors of the rooms. 

Five times in the day the Muezzin , from the 
balcony of the minaret, calls to prayer. “La 
Ulah, ill Allah!” (“There is but one God, one 
God alone!”) he cries. Down on his knees 
goes every Turk, man and child, with his face 
turned toward the sacred city of Mecca, while 
he repeats a short prayer. 

Besides these five special prayers, the Tur- 


180 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


kish boy is taught to make good use of his 
rosary. 

This rosary is made of different woods, coral, 
agate, mother-of-pearl, or even of small pearls. 
Some are composed of pebbles which pilgrims 
have picked up by the wayside. It must have 
ninety-nine beads, divided into three sets; and 
children are taught to slip these beads through 
their fingers, saying to each one, “Allah!” 

From his cradle the Turkish child sees signs 
of belief in magic and hidden evil. A mother 
lets no one see her baby before it is six weeks 
old, for fear anyone should give it the “evil 
eye.” This, the mother thinks, is sure to befall 
her child if the visitor who praises its good 
looks or its health does not mean what she 
says, or is not careful to add, 4 1 Marsh Allah ! ’ ’ 
(“May God preserve it!”) 

All children wear talismans or charms to 
preserve them from danger ; sickness, they 
think, is charmed away, and evil spirits are 
pacified by these. 

They have few toys, and those of the simplest 
description, such as tops and marbles, with 
which they do many wonderful things. We 
look in vain for toys that help in teaching the 
child. There are no bricks, no garden tools, 
no toy machines. Games, fencing, swimming, 
gymnastic exercises have been introduced into 
the newer schools, but it will be a long time 
before the Turkish father makes his boy learn 


TURKEY AND ARABIA 


181 


them. Altogether, the child is left to do pretty 
much what he likes. His mother is fond of 
him, but she has no education herself, and can- 
not see the use of it. His father is fond of 
him; but as the child must always stand in 
his father’s presence, and may not speak till 
he is spoken to, there is no trust and no childish 
chat or laughter. 

Yet, in spite of all this, there is much natural 
affection among the Turks, which may lead to 
better things as time goes on; and it must be 
said that two virtues are impressed upon all 
children — honesty and temperance. Whether 
in the town or the country, the Turkish boy, 
however poor, does not steal, and the Turkish 
home, whatever it may fail to have, is never a 
drunken one. 

And if we remember that the industry which 
they lack might not be ours if we lived in their 
climate, and were hemmed in with superstitious 
customs, we can part good friends with the 
children of Turkey. 

For centuries Arabia has been famous as a 
iand of jewels and of perfume. The wandering 
Arab tribes carried from India the precious 
stones and costly spices to Europe, and thus 
it has become generally believed that they 
obtained these in their own country. The pre- 
cious stones of Arabia are few; but Arabia is 
rich in flowers and poetry and literature, and 
in curious customs. The Bedouins are the 


182 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


wandering Arabs, the roaming dwellers of the 
woods and deserts, and wild places far from 
cities and towns. 

Hospitality is the first law of the Arab tribe, 
and a woman must in her husband’s absence 
entertain the guest who asks the shelter of her 
house, whether he is known to her or not, 
whether friend or foe. They have many pretty 
customs of hospitality. The mistress of the 
house brings cool oil of roses to the stranger, 
in which to put his fingers; a little daughter 
brings a flat saucer of burning musk to perfume 
his hands and cheeks, the master of the house 
offers purple grapes. Sometimes a tired trav- 
eler, claiming hospitality, will find a basin of 
perfumed snow waiting for him beside the 
softest cushion in the coolest corner of the 
tent. The snow had been gathered from some 
near mountain- slope and scented with rose 
petals. 

Arabian girls and women are very brave. 
It is the first principle taught by an Arab 
mother to her young daughters. The girls of 
Arabia are taught courage as thoroughly as 
are the boys of the American Indian and at 
as young an age. In the old stories of Arabia 
there are many records of deeds of daring and 
heroism of Arabian women. For hundreds of 
years, whenever the tribe has been in danger, 
the women have fought beside the men with 
great daring and urged them on to greater 


TURKEY AND ARABIA 


183 


efforts. The Arabian girl seems, perhaps, 
more interesting to ns than her little brother, 
for she is very shrewd and clever. The little 
girl is taught from the very first to outwit and 
to get the better of him. She is taught to think 
for herself before she is taught to walk. 

These little girls are very beautiful. They all 
walk well, run well, and rest and stand grace- 
fully. They are all fond of dress and rich 
ornaments. Dancing is their chief accomplish- 
ment. No Arab man dances ; but every Arabian 
woman does. The girls are very busy and very 
useful too. They cook, carry water, and weave 
the coarse hair cloth with which their tents are 
made. All the girls are taught to sing, but 
instrumental music is never heard except from 
wandering professionals. All the Arabs are 
music-mad. Poetry, music, and sweet-meats 
are both a past-time and occupation of the 
women and girls. All classes, men, women and 
children, rich and poor, smoke. 

They drink sour milk and love to eat ostrich 
eggs and red Birnee dates. Perhaps the two 
animals which the ordinary Arab child is most 
familiar with are the ostrich and the camel. 
But we must not forget the horse. Arabia is 
the land from which all horses came, in the 
beginning, and he is loved and cared for almost 
equally with the rest of the family. 

Dates are to the Arabs what bananas are to 
the most of Africa ; what bread, meat and fish 


184 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


are to Europe, and what rice it to India and 
China. An Arab, who had been traveling in 
England, was asked how he liked that country. 
He shook his head kindly, but sadly, and said, 
“No dates grow there.’ ’ Ostrich eggs, which 
the Arabs so love to eat, are very large. They 
weigh three pounds at least, and are very good. 
The Arabs are born with wonderful senses of 
sight, of smell, and of hearing. These natural 
gifts are carefully cultivated in all the boys, 
and among the Bedouins are found keener than 
among any other people. 

Every boy is born in one of two classes. 
Either he is one of the “dwellers in brick’ ’ or 
he is a “tent dweller.” If he is born a Bedouin 
his home all his life will be a tent woven of 
coarse, black hair by the women of his tribe. 
His life will be one of poverty. If he is a city 
born his life will be one of comparative refine- 
ment, but he will not travel as do the Bedouins. 
The Bedouins often wander for years from the 
shifting sands of the hot deserts, where nothing 
grows but thorny shrubs, and nothing lives but 
deadly reptiles. They count themselves happy 
whenever they reach some oasis formed by the 
bubbling up of some stream that has been lost 
in the desert many miles away. 

Two things every Arab boy, whether a 
Bedouin or of the cities, is taught. He is taught 
the art and grace of hospitality, and he is taught 
to understand, to love and to rule the horse. 


TURKEY AND ARABIA 


185 


He takes the greatest care of his steed. A 
family of horses and a family of men live 
together, and belong one to another from gen- 
eration to generation. An Arab boy is taught 
Iiis own family history very early, but he is 
also taught all the history of the horses belong- 
ing to his family as early and as thoroughly. 

The Arab boy of fifteen is almost a man. 
He never marries except in his own class and 
race. Every Arab boy is taught to ride well 
and furiously for hours at a time. Every young 
Arab is taught to flatter. Here is an Arab 
proverb which many of the lads are made to 
learn, and all value its meaning if not its words : 
‘ ‘If he whom you stand in need of is mounted 
upon an ass, exclaim, 4 what a beautiful horse 
you have there/ ” 

The Arab boy is never rude to his mother. 
He may fight with his brother, and even at 
rare occasions resist his father, but his mother 
is almost sacred in his eyes. 


Chapter XVTI. 
RUSSIA AND POLAND. 


Come, oh, spring! oh, lovely spring! 

Come with hope and come with treasure, 

Come with waving flax, and bring 

Corn abundant, dance and pleasure. — Russian Song. 

T HUS sings the Russian mother as she 
swings the hammock-like cradle in 
which her baby is sleeping, and is happy 
that the long cold winter is past, and the beau- 
tiful summer is at hand. 

The children are happy, too, and run out into 
the first rains of the season and laugh and 
dance and sing songs in their praise, as Amer- 
ican children do when the first snow-flakes fall. 
The little Russians are tired of the snow. But 
after the long, hard frosts of winter they are 
glad to see rain, for they know that it will bring 
the loveliest, though it be the shortest, season 
of the year. 

In some parts the young girls collect on the 
banks of the rivers when the ice is breaking, 
and there join hands and move backwards and 
forwards in graceful measure, begging the 
spring not to delay its coming. On the first 
of May the children and their parents wander 
into the woods for a long stroll, and when they 
( 186 ) 


RUSSIA AND POLAND 


187 


return bring with them buds and green boughs 
and young flowers. 

The Russian spring is short — so short, that 
in times gone by it was not classed among the 
seasons at all. It comes with a bound, and has 
scarcely time to bid the trees awake from their 
winter sleep, and the flowers spring up amid 
the meadow grass or by the banks of the brook, 
before it is away with another bound. But while 
it lasts it calls back the birds, the cuckoo, the 
lark, and the swallow. On certain days these 
birds appear one after the other, returning, as 
the legend says, from Paradise, and bringing its 
warmth with them. 

Every season has its songs. When the chil- 
dren have sung in praise of spring, they wel- 
come the summer, with its hot, long days, dur- 
ing which in northern Russia, for a short time 
at least, the sun scarcely sinks below the hori- 
zon. They sing also in autumn and winter, 
but the songs of autumn and winter are sad; 
the former grieving for the departure of the 
birds, the leaves, and the flowers; the latter 
telling of children lost in the snow, hugged to 
death by the shaggy bears, or eaten by the 
hungry wolves. 

In no country in the world is the difference 
between the rich and poor, the noble and the 
peasant, so clearly marked. The parents of 
many of the little boys and girls of the poor 
were once serfs — a kind of slave — for they 


188 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


belonged either to the emperor or to some rich 
nobleman. They could be bought and sold like 
animals. Though this state of affairs no longer 
exists, the poor peasant seems to grow poorer, 
and the rich classes richer. Russia needs sadly 
a middle class of sturdy, honest men and women, 
such as are the great bulk of our own peo- 
ple. This class is our greatest strength, and 
the lack of it is Russia’s greatest weakness. 
We shall see at once, therefore, the great differ- 
ence in the lives of the children of the rich and 
of the poor. 

The children of rich Russians are very much 
petted, and their homes are luxurious. The 
young nobles are seldom sent to school, but 
have tutors and governesses at home. 

These are natives of France, Germany, and 
England, and as the children hear these lan- 
guages spoken from their earliest years, and 
have great power of imitation, they find it easy 
to speak foreign languages, which they may 
know better than their own. 

While very few of the peasant children can 
read or write even the Russian language, you 
will think it very strange when I tell you that 
there are more than forty different kinds of 
speech in this great big country of Russia. 
Even if you learned to speak Russian in one 
part of it, you might not be understood in a 
different part. 

As long as they are small, the little nobles 


BUS SI A AND POLAND 


189 


look very pretty, especially the boys, who are 
dressed in many tine looking costumes. Their 
coats or dresses of embroidered Persian silk 
or of velvet, of Circassian goat or camel-hair 
fabrics, are bound around the waist with bright 
colored sashes, in which little three-hilted dirks 
are placed. 

Caps and turbans of all descriptions and 
colors cover their curly little heads, and hoots 
of scarlet, yellow or black, topped with red or 
white, and furnished with small gilt spurs, 
adorn their feet. The little girls in the towns 
are dressed after the Paris fashions, but at their 
country seats they also take to the pretty 
national costumes. 

Children do not stay children long in Bussia. 
They soon become little gentlemen and ladies; 
the boys are put into grand uniforms, and enter 
the military schools or become pages at the 
palaces of the Emperor, where the principal 
study of a great many of them consists in bow- 
ing with grace, dressing splendidly, and spend- 
ing money; while the girls have only to help 
their mothers entertain guests, and lounge 
about the handsome drawing rooms. 

St. Petersburg has been called the “City of 
Bells/ ’ and at no other time is this more notice- 
able than at Easter morning. All who can pos- 
sibly go are in the cathedrals and churches. 
At last a great bell strikes twelve. At the last 
stroke, the priest comes through the doors of 


190 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the sanctuary chanting ‘ ‘Christ is risen ! Christ 
is risen !” Then such a clamor of bells you 
have never heard. Big, deep-toned bells, little, 
high tinkling bells, and all the sizes between are 
clanging and sounding together, pealing forth 
the glad news. Cannons are fired off; rockets 
flash in the sky, the cathedral suddenly becomes 
ablaze with lights and all the people move 
around kissing each other ; relatives and friends 
first, and then everybody one happens to meet. 
Old women kiss, old men kiss each other, chil- 
dren kiss. The Emperor kisses all his house- 
hold. The kissing lasts all night and during the 
next day, for this is Easter time, and it is their 
way of showing their good will toward all 
human beings, rich and poor alike. 

In our days little Ivan (the common name 
given to Russian boys) is born in freedom, and 
has a good chance of becoming something better 
than his poor father and grandfather, who had 
no life of their own to speak of, but were kicked 
and beaten at the will of their master. 

Ivan’s father has not a pretty little hut; it 
does not remind us in the least of an American 
cottage. 

The father builds it himself, and his only tool 
is his axe. His hut is made of logs of wood; 
the crevices are filled up with weeds and soil; 
the floor is nothing but earth mixed with 
manure, and great heaps of soil are piled up 
round the walls outside to keep the cold out. 


RUSSIA AND POLAND 


191 


There is one great stove which heats the only- 
room by day, and serves for a bed for the older 
people at night. The little children’s hammocks 
are slnng to the rafters around the stove, and 
there is a kind of rough bench by the wall, which 
serves as bed for the older children, if there are 
many at home. At dinner time the family seat 
themselves around the table, eating out of a 
common dish placed in the center. The furni- 
ture is very plain and homely, for the poor 
Russian cannot afford any more than the cheap- 
est things for his family. 

But the peasant’s family is seldom large, 
especially since the custom of each “race” liv- 
ing together in two or three huts in one “yard” 
is going out of use. By ‘ ‘ race ’ ’ is meant all the 
relatives of a family, father, mother, grand- 
parents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, 
cousins, and children. All lived together under 
the rule of one, very often the great-grand- 
father, who managed his large family as well 
as he could, and, according to Russian custom, 
with the help of the stick. The tale we have 
all heard of the old man who was found seated 
by the side of the road crying, and on being 
asked what ailed him, replied that his father 
had beaten him for throwing stones at his 
grandfather, must have had its origin in a 
Russian village. 

Little Ivan is not spoilt. As he has to learn 
how to bear bitter cold and lack of food and 


192 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


other hardships, he begins his education early 
and it is often the only education he gets, for 
schools are not plentiful. Some few there are, 
and also some private schools, kept up by kind- 
hearted people, but on the whole, the peasant’s 
child has little chance for learning even to read 
or write. 

Ivan’s life is generally a very hard one. In 
the early winter he leads the sleigh-horse which 
his father takes out with him to gather wood 
for the stove; and sometimes the poor little 
lad has to go alone into the depths of the forest 
for the wood. The girls in the harvest-time go 
with their mothers to the fields, where they 
work hard, leaving the smaller children to 
amuse themselves by wreathing wild flowers 
into a garland, until it is time to come home. 
There is very little “petting” among the Rus- 
sian peasantry. Little Ivan is not “coddled.” 

After the pope of the village (all priests are 
called popes) has christened him, he spends his 
child-life, except the short summers, in the hot, 
unhealthy and dirty room, filled with vermin 
of all kinds, in which his hammock is slung; 
or in the snows outside his cottage-door, in the 
bitter cold of a Russian winter, which is often 
so severe that wine and provisions freeze, and 
money and metals, if touched, burn the fingers 
and take the skin off, as if red-hot. 

The house we have described has generally 
a chimney, or a hole through which the smoke 


RUSSIA AND POLAND 


193 


may escape, but this is often stopped up in 
winter for the sake of warmth. It has also a 
small window, sometimes of glass, but more 
often covered with dried fish-skin. Poor and 
wretched as this kind of home seems to us, there 
are many, many others, mere mud-heaps, with- 
out chimney, without window, often without 
hearth or stove. 

If the peasant be well off, of course his house 
has more comfort. There may be two windows, 
>A and an old screen at one end of the room may 
half conceal a greasy old sofa kind of bed. 
Then there will be a painted chest or box, con- 
taining the treasures of the family, a gay dress 
or two, and some coins. But there is no sign 
of whitewash or paint on the brown log walls, 
and the whole armies of big spiders and black- 
beetles crawl about in every direction. 

Ivan does not mind the spiders and beetles; 
he does not even suspect that he can do without 
them; he does not care much for anything, not 
even the stick ; for he has often heard the pro- 
verb, “A boy or man who has been well beaten 
is worth two who have never been beaten ;” 
and the other one, ‘ 4 It is only the lazy masters 
who don’t beat their servants.” 

The little child is taught to be very clean — 
once a week. The Russian creed requires him 
to bathe every Saturday, and he does so as a 
religious duty ; but he does not use much water 
between times, and sleeps by night in the clothes 


13 


194 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


he wears by day. Even the Russians of better 
families often content themselves with a dry 
polish instead of a wash. 

Little Ivan’s bath would be a trying thing for 
an American child. First he is steamed till he 
is half smothered in a hole under the stove, or 
in one of the vapor-baths so common in all 
Russian villages. Then he crawls out, and his 
mother half drowns him with pailfuls of hot 
water. Then she pours ice-cold water over him, 
or sends him out to have a roll in the snow ; after 
which he dresses with pride, having had all 
the cleaning he will get for another week. 

From the noble to the peasant, all the Rus- 
sians are fond and proud of their boots. The 
story is told of a Polish minister who never 
wore his boots more than twice, and then hung 
them up in a handsome hall for his friends to 
look at. One of these, a gentleman of another 
country, who had just been traveling through 
Poland, and had seen the miserable state of the 
peasants, said, on seeing them, “Ah! now I 
know why the peasants in Poland go barefoot ; 
all their boots are stored at the ministers’ 
houses.” 

The number of boots, and especially little 
children’s boots, that hang in rows in the 
bazaars or shops of the different towns is a 
sight to behold ; and even the peasant, if he be 
pretty well off, has a couple of pairs in his 
house, which the different members of the 


RUSSIA AND POLAND 


195 


family wear by turns, and which they are very 
careful to take off if surprised by a shower, 
and sling over their shoulders to prevent them 
from getting dirty. If a peasant be too poor 
to buy boots, he wears lapti — great shoes made 
of birch-basket — or goes barefoot. In winter 
he is careful to stuff his wooden shoes with 
straw or to wrap paper round his feet. 

Yet, in spite of all this misery in Poland, 
merry scenes are not altogether missing, there 
being dances and singing. 

To shorten the long winter evenings, the 
young village girls and children meet in the 
largest house to spin, and sing songs, and tell 
tales. 

Later on the boys and young men come too, 
and they all have a dance to the [sound of the 
Russian lute. The songs they sing are all 
mournful, but they are full of poetry and deep 
feeling. These songs have a peculiar effect upon 
the people. Music for them has a strong charm. 
The native songs and ballads have a quaint and 
curious ring of mystery and sadness. Fancy 
is blended with fact, and with every-day doings 
in a way that affects the feelings and is warmly 
felt by every listener. 

Boys and girls, at least of the poorer classes, 
are much moved by the simple songs which 
have been handed down, like our nursery 
rhymes, from the times of the past, and are 
much affected by the sadness of the ballads. 


196 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The following is a sample of them, given in 
English in almost the form of the Russian song: 

The cool spring bubbles, the cool spring plays 
In the meadow green, in the warm sun’s rays, 

And the Tschumak * comes with his thirsty herd. 

But the oxen bellow, they will not drink ; 

Foretelling sorrow, their heads they sink. 

He says : — “Oh ! oxen grey, ne’er more 
I’ll lead you to the Crimeai* shore. 

Sad ye have made my joyous heart, 

So young, so young from life to part.” 

And Sunday came, ’twas early day 
Dead, dead the youthful Tschumak lay, 

Deep and wide with an iron spade 
They dug a grave, and him in it laid ; 

And on the hillock — ’twas fair to see — 

They planted a blossoming elder-tree 
Flew past the cuckoo, the mother bird — 

Far around her cry was heard : 

“ Cuckoo ! my son ! my eaglet young ! 

Give me thy hand — thy right hand strong ! ” 

“ Oh, gladly, mother, mother mine, 

Both my hands would I place in thine ; 

But ’neath the sods they have laid me low, 

And the damp cold earth will not let me go.” 

These national songs have been called the 
tears of Russia. 

We must now say a word about Russian fairs 
and festivals, which are looked forward to by 
all Russian children with great delight. 

These festivals and fairs begin in the Easter- 


• The Tschumaki are young men and boys, who go to the Crimea 
twice* a year with their oxen to bring back fish and salt. 


RUSSIA AND POLAND 


197 


week, when young willow-branches are dipped 
in holy water, and the cattle struck with them, 
the people exclaiming, 4 4 God bless you, and give 
you health !” This takes place on Palm Sun- 
day. Next comes “Pascha,” the Easter festi- 
val; after that the festival of the russalki, or 
river nymphs; then a festival in honor of the 
birth of J ohn the Baptist. Following this 
comes the 4 4 Petrowki, ’ ’ a kind of harvest feast. 
On this day, before service begins in the dome- 
crowned church which forms the centre-build- 
ing of a Russian village, an ox is killed; after 
service it is eaten. In the evening the children 
dress in masks and funny clothes and have a 
jolly time. 

Then comes the Jurjew (George’s day), 
which is celebrated twice in the year, on the 
23d of April and 26th of November. 

But it would take us too long to mention all 
the festivals and fairs that take place in the 
great country of all the Russias: to describe 
fully the village fairs, the tiara-like head- 
dresses of some of their young girls, and the 
vulgar-looking red handkerchiefs with bright 
yellow spots that are tied round the heads of 
others; the showy shawls and stuffs that the 
smiling salesman declares he is giving for 
nothing, the immense beads that he calls pre- 
cious stones, or the picture-books with which 
he makes friends with the children. 

So we will content ourselves with naming 


198 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the Swjatki, a time devoted to superstitious 
customs and fortune-telling, which falls on our 
Christmas week; the Wassili evening, our New 
Year’s Eve; and the chief of all, the Russian 
Carnival, or Butter-week, which finishes up the 
winter festivities. The preparations made for 
this festival, especially in St. Petersburg, are 
many. The merry-go-rounds, ‘ ‘ the mountains, ’ ’ 
as the artificial sleigh-drives are called, the 
boat-swings, the menageries, theatres, cake and 
bon-bon booths, fill the largest square of the 
city. Men in peasants’ dress, and with immense 
false grey beards, act as clowns, or do their 
best to amuse spectators by relating funny 
stories, or making very poor jests and jokes. 
Children and grown-up people climb up the 
wooden steps that lead to the top of the moun- 
tain, and then slide down in small sleighs amid 
shouting and peals of laughter ; or they sing, or 
ride in the merry-go-round, or drink tea; and 
when Alexander Alexandrovitch and Marie 
Fedorovna, and our old friend Ivan, have 
had their fill of amusement, they go home to eat 
blini (pan-cakes made of flour and butter, 
cooked in butter and eaten with butter) without 
which no Butter-week would be complete. 


Chapter XVIII. 
INDIA. 


T HE little ones of India do not lead such 
merry lives as those born in other 
countries. They seem to take life from 
their earliest years as a very solemn business. 
There is a look of old age on their little faces 
which is not natural, and though, of course, 
they have their childish plays, somehow even 
their amusements partake of the gravity which 
seems part and parcel of their nature. They 
take their pleasures sadly, and bursts of joyous 
merriment are rarely, if ever, heard amongst 
them in their play-hours. They are what we 
should call “ old-fashioned . 9 1 

The English in India seem to know very little 
about the native children who swarm about 
their houses and grounds. They of course, see 
their servants ’ children running about in scanty 
garments, if they have any on at all, and run- 
ning off, in an excess of shyness, on their 
approach to a place of shelter, and that is very 
often all they know about them. Pretty little 
things many of them are, either with shocks of 
black hair, or else with shaved heads, chubby 
faces, large, black, bead-like eyes, and beauti- 
ful white teeth. But if their faces are pretty, 

( 199 ) 


200 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


their forms are not graceful, for Indian chil- 
dren are either too fat or too thin; and they 
go about in the fruit season, as a well-known 
writer has said, like “pots of green preserves, 
‘ chow-chow 9 undeveloped, ’ ’ and their round 
little bodies give them an almost laughable 
appearance, taking away from their good looks. 

We are writing now of quite poor native chil- 
dren. They have one great virtue which chil- 
dren of other countries would do well to imitate 
— they are very polite, and when you pass them, 
they rise and make a graceful bow before they 
scamper away into hiding. If you give them a 
kind word, a few sweets, or, what they love 
more then aught else, a few small coppers, they 
get over their shyness, and you have a chance to 
observe their ways a little. 

Babies in India are not troubled with much 
clothing ; they are not swathed up, for example, 
as are the German babies, nor even as are our 
own infants. They go through a curious pro- 
cess which we should think very disagreeable; 
their little bodies are rubbed all over with oil, 
and lamp-black is put on their eyelids and below 
their eyes, there being an idea among the women 
that this is good for their eyesight. 

The children have generally a quantity of 
black hair, but often, especially if it be very hot 
weather, this is all shaved off so as to keep the 
head cool. In the case of boys, however, one 
lock is always left on the top of the head, and 


INDIA 


201 


the hair is kept together by wax. With Hindoos 
this sacred lock, as it is called, is never cut off. 
Some parents make a vow not to cut a boy’s hair 
until he is twelve years old, and boys are at 
times taken to be girls, from their long plaits 
of hair. When the lock is finally shaved off, a 
great feast is given, presents are made to the 
Brahmins, or priests, the child is dressed in new 
clothes, and a variety of ceremonies are 
observed. 

Very soon after the birth of a child of well- 
to-do parents, the astrologer, one who tells the 
future from the stars, is sent for to cast the 
infant’s nativity, that is, to make a map of the 
stars for the day when the child was born. He 
comes with his different instruments and asks a 
great many questions. He then consults the 
stars and pretends to tell from them the events 
of the child’s future life. The parents treasure 
up this record, and look at it as often as good or 
evil happens to their child. Poor people who 
cannot afford to go to the expense of an astrolo- 
ger’s visit, content themselves with merely 
entering down the day on which their child was 
born. 

The giving of a name to the baby is another 
very ceremonious affair, and generally takes 
place when the child is about twelve days old. 
The names of gods or goddesses are generally 
chosen, or perhaps that of a flower, but never 
the name of either father or mother. The 


202 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


choice is usually the mother’s business, but the 
father sometimes wishes for another name than 
that chosen by the mother, and then the matter 
is decided by a lamp being placed over each 
name, and the one over which it burns the more 
steadily and brightly is chosen. 

Little Indian girls are covered with jewels 
very soon after they are born. Quite tiny 
babies wear silver nose-rings, ear-rings, ban- 
gles, anklets, and necklaces, seeming, poor little 
mites, quite weighed down with them. 

Mohammedan children generally wear charms 
tied round their necks and arms, which consist 
of verses from their sacred book — the Koran — 
written on small slips of paper, and then put 
into small lockets of silver. A Hindoo child 
wears other charms, perhaps a tiger’s claw or 
tooth; sometimes acorns, shells or coins. The 
mothers do not like to tell what they have put 
round their children’s necks. 

As they get a little out of babyhood the chil- 
dren have their pets, like our own young folks. 
Pigeons, parrots and starlings are favorite 
birds in Indian houses; sometimes partridges 
and tame squirrels may be seen; and dogs are 
also made pets of, both in Mohammedan and 
Hindoo families. 

Their toys are usually made of baked mud or 
wood, and gaily colored. They are mostly the 
figures of animals. The shapes of the animals 
are very curious — horses of queer form, well- 


INDIA 


203 


striped tigers, elephants, and so on. An Eng- 
lish doll to a native child gives the greatest 
delight. They especially like those with blue 
eyes and flaxen hair, as the greatest contrast 
to their own brown little faces, often made still 
more dingy by the curious custom some mothers 
have of rubbing a smudge of black on their 
children’s foreheads to prevent — as they think 
— wicked spirits taking a fancy to them on 
account of their good looks. 

At a certain season the little girls throw their 
dolls into the water, following the fashion of 
their parents, who put their dead into the 
Ganges, which is considered a sacred river. 
The little dolls are made only of clay, painted 
and dressed, but they are, for all that, precious 
to the children. 

On the Dassivah Festival, the girls dress up 
in their best and brightest costumes, and go 
down to the nearest water-tank or stream, and 
solemnly cast their dolls into it. The festival 
lasts nine days, and on the tenth day the boys 
also destroy their toys. They hollow out 
gourds, too, and put lighted candles in them, as 
farmers’ boys here do with turnips. After the 
girls have thrown away their dolls they get no 
others for three months ; then at the next Das- 
sivah Feast they do the same as before. 

Kite-flying and swinging are at certain sea- 
sons of the year their favorite amusements; 
they are also fond of a game of foot-ball, and 


204 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


are experts at “cup and ball.” The annual 
fair held to celebrate the return of Rama (one 
of the old gods) is the great day for native 
children. Their parents, however poor, strive 
to scrape a few coins together to give their little 
ones a treat then, and take them, decked out in 
as much finery as possible, to share in the fun ; 
to swing in the gaily-painted red and gold cars ; 
to have a turn in the merry-go-rounds, drawn, 
perhaps, by an elephant or a camel; and last, 
but by no means least, to buy some of the baked- 
earth toys and curious-looking sweetmeats. 

The older children play at various games; 
like all children, they are fond of pretending. 
They pretend to cook, or write in the dust, or 
read. They also make a species of “mud pie.” 
We wonder if anywhere in the known world 
“mud pie-making” is not a game with children. 
But the “mud pies” Indian children make take 
the form of graves, decorated with flowers and 
leaves, after the fashion in which their elders 
ornament the tombs of their relatives. A 
solemn sort of amusement this, but quite in 
keeping with their natures, and most gravely 
carried on. 

But there are other and rougher games — the 
game of ball and the mimic battle with short 
swords, which latter is played as warily as the 
German fort-taking game of which you have 
already read. Indian children are generally 
very clever in arithmetic, saying their tables 


INDIA 


205 


up to a very large number; but they cannot 
bear to be severely tested in them. Ordinary 
slates are now used for sums; formerly palm- 
leaves and green plaintain-leaves were given to 
the scholars to write on, and a reed or iron 
stylus to write with. 

Hindoo schools are of two kinds, called tols 
and patliasalas. The latter are primary schools 
for reading, writing, and arithmetic — and are 
conducted by a village schoolmaster. The 
former are of a higher class, in which the course 
of grammar occupies from seven to twelve 
years, law about ten, and logic from thirteen to 
twenty-two years. The two kinds of schools 
are in no way connected, pupils not passing 
from the lower to the higher, as one might 
naturally suppose would be the case. Very few, 
indeed, take these higher courses of study. 

Perhaps you will like to know what Indian 
children have for food and when they take their 
meals. The hours vary according to the time 
of the year, and the time that the schools are 
open. If from six to ten, the children get a 
piece of cold bread before going out in the 
morning to school, and return, if Hindoos, to 
a meal of dal * and chapatis, the latter being 
thin cakes made of flour and water, with some- 
times a little spice. If Mohammedans, they 
are given meat. Then they get another meal at 
about six in the evening. Between whiles they 

* A sort of pea ; it is boiled and eaten with rice. 


206 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


eat a good deal of fruit, and are quite as fond 
of sweets as any child. In a Hindoo house, 
the father and sons have their meals alone, 
waited on by the mother and sisters, who after- 
wards take their food anyhow, partaking of 
whatever scraps are left, as they are looked on 
as quite inferior to the male members of the 
family. In this the Indians are like the Chinese. 

Some people who know little of India have 
an idea that the natives are by no means a clean 
race. This is quite a mistake, for they wash 
much more frequently, as a rule, than do people 
of other nations. Both Mohammedans and Hin- 
doos wash not only before and after meals, 
which of course is necessary, as they eat with 
their fingers, but also at various other times in 
the day. The old natives seem to be always 
washing at every leisure moment, when they 
are not indulging in the peaceful charms of 
“ hubble-bubble’ ’ or pipe. 

You may have heard that in India early mar- 
riages are the custom. Among the Sudras, 
boys are frequently married at the age of five 
or six; hut the Brahmins often delay the mar- 
riage until the boy is fifteen or sixteen; but 
then the wife must not exceed the age of four 
or five. All married women in India wear on 
their necks a small ornament of gold which is 
a sign that they are married; this ornament is 
removed with great formality when they 
become widows. The nose ring is also put in 


INDIA 


207 


on marriage, and this is likewise removed if 
the child-wife becomes a widow. 

These infant marriages are the source of 
much misery in India and child-widows lead 
very unhappy lives. Very often they have 
never even seen the faces of the husbands they 
are compelled to mourn for; but they have to 
give up all, even the most innocent pleasures, 
eat the coarsest food, wear the coarsest cloth 
for clothes and be deprived of all their orna- 
ments, as no widows are allowed to wear any 
jewels. 

It is to be hoped that in time the English 
government will do away with this miserable 
custom. Many bad practices have been put 
down, and we hope that infant marriages may 
also be, for they cause a great deal of grief 
and misery both to girls and boys. The time 
may soon come when all these old foolish cus- 
toms are done away with and when we will see 
the little ones of India become like the happy, 
merry children of other countries. 


Chapter XIX. 


SIAM, THE LAND OF THE WHITE 
ELEPHANT. 

I N Siam, where only a small portion of the 
people are natives, we still find the customs 
and religion the same to-day as those which 
existed many centuries ago. The yellow- 
skinned babies, when born, are rubbed with a 
sweet-smelling paste, made of saffron and oil, 
from the top of the head to the sole of the 
foot, just the same as they have been as long 
as there is any record of their race. This paste 
makes the skin darker and yellower than ever, 
and is, therefore, considered to improve their 
looks. Siam is very near the equator, and the 
weather, of course, is extremely warm all the 
year around, yet the little baby, as soon as 
he has been rubbed with this paste, is entirely 
covered over with a scarf. Not a crack for 
fresh air is left, and we wonder how he lives. 
Once a day he gets another rubbing, and is then 
covered up again. But if we were little babies 
in Siam we, too, would probably be glad to have 
something laid over us all the time, for mos- 
quitoes and insects of all kinds abound. The 
Siamese child would never think of killing one 
( 208 ) 


SIAM 


209 


of these pests, for to kill any living creature 
would be against his religion. 

Only the royal family and the greatest of 
nobles, as a rule, dwell on the banks of the 
rivers. There are possibly a million people 
living on the water in Siam on rafts made of 
bamboo, with a little framework house upon 
it, also made of bamboo. The children grow 
up in this one room dwelling, and feel that 
there is no need for anything better. They all 
soon learn to swim as naturally as they can walk. 

Their mother is careful to teach them to 
take great care of their teeth. She will tell 
them that “any dog can have white teeth / 7 
and that nothing is so beautiful as teeth care- 
fully blackened with two rows of bright red 
gums showing plainly beside them. They make 
their gums a fiery red by chewing betel, which 
they get from a beautiful palm tree. Even the 
baby chews betel as soon as he has any teeth, 
and his father and mother and brothers and 
sisters and cousins and aunts and uncles all 
chew it too. 

The children of Siam are taught very young 
that there is luck in odd numbers. The steps 
of a house and the stairs, when they are built, 
must be carefully counted and made uneven. 
Prayers must be said an odd number of times 
to be effective, and they feel very thankful 
that they have an odd number of fingers and 
toes on each hand and foot. 


14 


210 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


They are very careful also never to study 
more or less than an odd number of lessons 
at one time, for otherwise they are sure they 
will forget everything. They do not study 
from books, such as we have, for their lessons 
are written upon carefully prepared palm 
leaves, or upon a sort of parchment. The top of 
each page is fastened to a bamboo reed and rolled 
upon it, so that in reading from line to line 
they hold the reed at each end and slowly unroll 
it, reading from the right to the left, as shown 
in our interesting illustration. 

In Siam all white animals are reverenced, 
for it is believed by them that every white 
cat, or dog, or rat, or elephant, or any other 
white animal contains the soul of some good 
and great man who has come back to earth 
to protect and watch over his loved ones in this 
form. In every white elephant is supposed to 
live the spirit of some king or hero, who, having 
once been great, is supposed to know the dan- 
gers of the country and in some mysterious 
way is able to bring prosperity and prevent any 
disasters. The picture of a white elephant, as 
you may know, is placed upon every Siamese 
flag, and is believed to bring success wherever 
it may go. From the earliest times the kings 
of Siam have eagerly searched for white ele- 
phants, which are sometimes found in the great 
forests of their land. They have thought it 
the best of good fortune to capture one, and 


SIAM 


211 


have loaded it with gifts and honors.^ When 
the governor of a province of Siam was told 
that a white elephant had been seen he imme- 
diately commanded that prayers and offerings 
be made in all the temples, while he sent out 
a large expedition of hunters and slaves to 
capture the precious beast and bring it in in 
triumph. When caught at last, a special mes- 
senger was sent to tell the king all about it, 
its age, size, complexion, actions, looks, and 
ways. The man or boy who carried this 
glorious news to the king, was happily, but 
painfully, rewarded by having his mouth, ears 
and nostrils stuffed with gold. The man who 
first saw the white elephant was also liberally 
rewarded. A wide path was cut through the 
forest for the elephant to travel on his way to 
the capital. Wherever he rested he was enter- 
tained and everywhere served by many attend- 
ants, who sang, danced, played upon instruments, 
and did many other things for his amusement till 
he reached the banks of the Meinam, the great 
river of Siam, upon which the capital, Bangkok, 
is situated, and upon whose waters a large part 
of the people of Siam have their homes. When 
the elephant reached the bank of this river a 
great floating palace of white, with a beautifully 
decorated roof hung with crimson curtains 
awaited him. Flowers covered the entire roof, 
and in the center of the gilt matting especially 
woven for him, his four-footed lordship was 


212 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


jDlaced in state, surrounded by a happy group of 
mere two-legged people, who bathed him, per- 
fumed him, fanned him, fed him, sang and 
played to him and flattered him. Nothing was 
too good, or too sweet, or too tender for him to 
eat. 

Thus in princely state he was floated down 
the river to the capital, where, with shouts of 
joy, beating of drums, blare of trumpets, boom 
of cannon, much music and rejoicing, he was 
conducted in triumph to the royal stables. For 
seven or nine days he was entertained and 
decorated most royally. We must say here that 
the white elephant of Siam is not really white, 
but a sort of dull cream color with splotches 
of a lighter shade in places on his body, but, 
nonetheless, the little Siamese boy and girl 
think him very wonderful and important. 

The ordinary elephant from the forest, cap- 
tured young and tamed, is one of the most 
valuable beasts of burden which the Siamese 
have. He is wonderfully wise, and is required 
to do many things which require greater 
strength than a horse or ox would be capable of. 
In the lumber yards we see trained elephants 
lifting heavy beams in their trunks and piling 
them up with great ease and care. 

Let us visit the home of a little Siamese 
boy and girl, just in time for their noon-day 
meal. We have hardly greeted the children 
and their parents before the little boy, at a 


SIAM 


213 


sign from his father, offers ns some betel to 
chew. This courtesy is never forgotten when 
a guest enters a Siamese home. When the 
little girl has drawn some fresh water, the 
jug is passed from one to another for each of 
us to drink. There are no tumblers or cups, 
but we notice that our friends do not put their 
lips to the jug, for they cleverly twist a palm 
leaf into the shape of a funnel and draw the 
water up into their mouths through this. The 
dishes are cocoanuts cut in halves and scooped 
out. We are now served first a dish of steam- 
ing rice, then a stew like hash, but very 
strongly seasoned with red pepper. We take 
but one swallow and immediately call for water, 
for it is so hot that it burns our mouths; but 
the Siamese think it very fine indeed. Pickled 
turnips finish the meal. Our host, on looking 
out of the window, suggests that we have some 
dessert, and seeing nothing on the table, we 
wonder what he means, until he steps out on 
the edge of his raft and calls to a passing store. 
The stores are built on boats or rafts like our 
friend’s house, and pass down the river sup- 
plying what is wanted to the different homes 
in much the same way that our grocery wagons 
bring our food to us. 

The children become greatly excited in the 
evening upon seeing a brilliantly lighted house- 
boat floating down the river. It is a theater ; and 
the children at once are begging their parents to 


214 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


let them take us and show us what a real Siamese 
play is like. Permission is granted, and step- 
ping into a little boat, we are swiftly and skil- 
fully paddled to this curious building. Strange 
musical instruments, drums and cymbals are 
making much noise, while a man is calling in a 
loud voice for everyone to come and see his won- 
derful actors and acrobats perform. The chief 
thing we notice about the actors is their wonder- 
ful costume. Huge earrings, bracelets, crowns 
with wings, spangled robes, and long tapering 
nails of gold fastened to their fingers, make us 
think them the funniest looking objects we have 
ever seen. We do not need to know the language, 
for no words are spoken. The brilliantly decora- 
ted actors take the parts of kings and heroes, 
demons and witches, and act the stories and 
legends of those characters which they repre- 
sent. Between each act there is much noisy 
music, but the parts of the performance which 
especially delight the children are the great 
variety of puppet shows which are especially 
designed for them. 

The Siamese are wonderfully clever in the 
manufacture of toys and dolls, and we noticed 
in the little home we have left tiny pagodas, 
temples, boats, floating houses, whole families, 
all true to life in everything; kings, queens, 
royal children, slaves, all in correct costume, in 
carving which, our little friends have spent 
weeks and months. 


SIAM 


215 


On onr way to the hotel where we are stop- 
ping, we see two actors performing on a street 
corner and making no effort to collect anything 
for their entertainment. We ask onr friends, 
who accompany ns, by whom these actors are 
paid. Even the little girls knows, and tells ns 
that some rich man is paying them to entertain 
the people free of charge to them, and thns 
‘ ‘making merit” for himself. 

Whenever the Siamese boys or girls do a 
kindness to a stranger they are what they call 
“ making merit” for themselves, and when they 
die all the good acts which they have done will 
he remembered in their favor. They frequently 
make wreaths of flowers and take them with a 
coin or two to place before an image of Buddha, 
and in this way also ‘ 1 making merit ’ ’ for them- 
selves. When they go into a temple to pray, all 
is silence, except when every once in a while 
some one of the worshippers arises and rings 
loudly a bronze bell hung in the middle of the 
temple. He does this when he feels that his 
prayers are not being given enough attention, 
and in this way hopes to attract the notice of the 
god whom he worships. 

Upon being invited to visit our friends again 
the next day, we gladly accept and appear early 
in the morning before the heat of mid-day has 
made it uncomfortable to move about. We are 
told that very soon the little hoy will become 
of age, and there is to be a great celebration 


216 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


over the shaving of the tnft of hair which has 
always been allowed to grow from the top of his 
head. This will mark his fourteenth birthday. 
His father, though poor, will spend all the 
money he can get together to make this event 
a grand occasion. Musicians will be hired, and 
some dancing girls will accompany the lad to 
a wonderfully carved and beautiful temple, 
where after many peculiar ceremonies the boy’s 
head will be shaved, and he will be left alone to 
pray. "When he comes out of the temple he will 
be considered a boy no longer, but a full-grown 
man and ready to marry, although only four- 
teen years old. The children of Siam do not 
ignore this custom of hair cutting for their 
favorite dolls, and when they think the time has 
arrived they make up little plays and entertain- 
ments and shave the heads of their dolls with 
all the seriousness and grave formalities which 
they have seen their elders practice at the hair- 
cutting time of their older brothers. 

While we are hearing of the great event which 
will soon come to our young friend, his grand- 
father and grandmother make a call in a boat. 
They are bringing a large kite to show the chil- 
dren. This is an especially fine one and they 
expect to fly it themselves, for men and women, 
as well as children, of all ages fly these wonder- 
ful kites. WLen the wind blows steadily from 
the south, as it so often does, the air seems alive 
with thousands of huge fishes, butterflies, drag- 



Siamese Children Reading their School-books. 










SIAM 


217 


ons, and kites in all shapes and sizes, painted 
in all the colors of the rainbow. 

The Siamese are naturally very musical, and 
every village has its orchestra, the richer 
families even supporting an orchestra of their 
own. They have the violin and many instru- 
ments like ours hut still more peculiarly shaped 
and queer sounding ones, such as can be seen 
nowhere else in the world. 

The games which the children of Siam play 
are not very many. The most popular is racing 
on foot or horseback, for the idea of speed to 
them is most attractive, but they wrestle and 
box, throw the discus, and have much fun vault- 
ing and tumbling, throwing the spear, and leap- 
ing through circles or wheels of fire. Every- 
where on land we can see children and even 
older men playing foot-sliuttlecock. This is a 
game which is seen only in Asia, and in the 
perfection of its skill only in Siam. The shut- 
tlecock is like our own, but the battledore is 
the sole of the foot. The children form a circle 
on a clear plot of ground. One of them opens 
the game by throwing the feathered toy to the 
player opposite him, who turning quickly and 
raising his leg, receives it on the sole of his 
foot and sends it like a shot to another. And 
he to another; and so it is kept flying for an 
hour or more without once falling to the ground. 

The little boys of Siam are very clever with 
their toes, and can almost be said to have four 


218 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


hands like the monkey. Their feet and legs are 
always bare. They have learned to do many 
things which would surprise us. 

There are two great holidays for all Siamese 
children. One of these is the celebration of the 
new year, when for three days the children are 
allowed to do just as theyTike. But as pleasant 
as this is, the Swing Days are perhaps enjoyed 
by them still more. During this time nobody 
does any work. There are many processions 
throughout the cities and decorations and flags 
everywhere. Only boys and men take part in 
the games belonging to these days. From the 
time that they are very young the boys practice 
to make themselves perfect, so that when they 
are old enough they can be successful in the 
great event. A part of the city is selected for 
the entertainment, and there two high poles 
are set up for the swings ; and in front of them, 
a certain distance away, stands one pole on the 
top of which waves a fancy banner. Just below 
the banner hangs a purse filled with gold. The 
boys or men start swinging slowly and gradu- 
ally higher and higher until they think they can 
reach the purse of gold and grasp it in their 
teeth. If successful, they climb down a rope 
ladder on the pole, and are allowed to keep the 
purse, but if they fail they must jump from the 
swing and slide down the pole, while all their 
friends are laughing at them for their clum- 
siness. 


SIAM 


219 


We have noticed a great many Japanese peo- 
ple living in Bangkok, and we shall now visit 
their native land and notice their queer customs 
and ways of living. 


Chapter XX. 

JAPAN AND KOREA. 

“rr^HE land of the Rising Sun,” is the 
JL pretty name which the people of J apan 
give their country, and it is a very 
beautiful one. It is all made up of islands; 
four large, and more than 3,000 small ones in 
the great Pacific Ocean, not far from the coast 
of Asia. 

In this island country the boys and girls know 
how to make themselves happy at all seasons 
of the year, and this is no wonder, for, as we 
shall see presently, they have no end of toys, 
and amusements; and one thing that would, no 
doubt, make them happier than anything else is 
that they are most loving and obedient children 
to very fond parents, who never punish them. 
Never being punished would not, however, make 
them so happy if it were not that they really do 
not seem to need punishment, for a word softly 
spoken to Japanese boys and girls seems quite 
enough to make them behave well. 

The people of Japan are very eager to gain 
knowledge; and to see the little black eyes of 
the brown-faced babies roaming about as if 
seeking something, at two or three weeks of age, 
one would fancy that they were already as eager 
( 220 ) 


JAPAN AND KOREA 


221 


to learn as their fathers and mothers before 
them. 

We wonder whether they admire their 
strange-looking mothers when they are first old 
enough to notice them, with their brown faces 
powdered white, and their teeth painted black. 
It used to be the custom for Japanese girls to 
do all this to their faces when they married; 
but we believe the custom of painting their teeth 
black is now passing away. 

Mothers carry their babies slung in front of 
them, and when they are tired the fathers may 
be seen carrying them in the same way. The 
children next mount their parents pick-a-hack 
fashion, and not only do fathers and mothers 
thus give them repeated rides, but elder 
brothers and sisters do the same for the younger 
ones, when the bearer is very often but little 
taller than the one to be seen perched upon his 
or her back. 

The Japanese are a very clean people, and 
think so much of the bath, that, although there 
are bath-rooms in all the large houses, there are 
many public bathing-houses known by a dark 
banner hanging over their doorway, and these 
are generally crowded. But besides the baths, 
Japanese mothers would tell you that they 
teach their little children to be hardy by duck- 
ing them in cold rivers, and plunging them into 
snow. 

Education is greatly desired in Japan, and 


222 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


schools may be seen on all sides. Both boys and 
girls of all ranks and classes are expected not 
only to learn to read and write, but to know 
something about the written history of their own 
country. They are very proud of their country, 
and perhaps justly, as they think it to be the 
most ancient sovereignty in the world; one 
family of emperors having ruled for over 
twenty-four hundred years. Most Japanese 
children are therefore sent to school, and may 
be seen on their way thither learning their les- 
sons out loud. 

The Japanese are a reading people, and a 
great many book-stalls are to be found in their 
streets, and on these may be found many pic- 
ture-books for the little ones. In the same way 
that children learn their lessons out loud, their 
elders have a habit of reading aloud to them- 
selves. Although Japanese children have to 
learn to write their letters in columns, from the 
top to the bottom of the page, beginning at the 
right-hand side, as the Chinese do, the charac- 
ters are not at all the same, and the two lan- 
guages also differ very greatly, the Chinese 
words being all short, and many of the Japanese 
ones very long. 

Children of 4 4 The Land of the Rising Sun” 
have their heads shaved, with the exception of 
four little tufts, one before, one behind, and 
one on either side. They wear bright and 
many-colored clothes, their loose jackets having 


JAPAN AND KOREA 


223 


very long sleeves almost to the ground, in each 
of which there is a pocket. They are odd little 
mites, sometimes going about in clogs, with 
their little shorn bare heads. Some wear stock- 
ings, but not all do. Those worn are made like 
a baby’s glove, with one division for the big toe, 
round which the sandals of the wooden clog are 
fastened. The children like to have these clogs 
too large for them, because they are then so 
much easier to throw off, and they have always 
to be removed before the children go into a 
room. Sometimes they take them off to use as 
balls. 

Besides the pockets in the long sleeves many 
hoys wear a pouch, in which they carry a purse 
and materials for writing. Their money, which 
has a hole in it, is often strung together in the 
purse for fear it should be lost. A man always 
wears, hanging to a string round his waist, a 
small portable inkstand, a brush to write with, 
and a good deal of paper. 

Japanese children are taught to keep strictly 
all festivals in honor of their gods, and on a 
festival morning boys will go off very early to 
the barber to be shaved (the time in Japan for 
getting up is sunrise, and the time for going to 
bed sunset). Then they will put on their best 
clothes, paint and powder their faces, and start 
away for a temple. Outside they may find some 
bronze dogs. If they do they will first touch one 
of these all over, and then themselves in the same 


224 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


way, which is the same as praying to be well 
and strong. When they cannot go into a tem- 
ple they ring a bell to call the god’s attention 
to what they have to say, drop some money, 
which they have carried with them, into a box, 
and ask the god to bless them. While coming 
along they have most likely bought two rice 
cakes, which they give to a boy belonging to 
the temple, in exchange for which he gives them 
one that has been blessed. We would think he 
had the better of the bargain. 

The dog is quite venerated in Japan, and 
nobody is allowed to kill one. On their way to 
school, children meet a great many dogs. Those 
that have owners they will know by their wear- 
ing a wooden label ; the others look in very good 
condition, and as though they knew how to take 
care of themselves. Should there be time, a 
child will stop and give one of these dogs a 
combing, but some of them look too fierce to 
be meddled with. The stray ones all go off to 
some stable or yard at night, and in the same 
way that we have policemen to protect us, the 
dogs of Japan have guardians to take care of 
them, and there are hospitals for those that are 
ill. 

So much is done in Japan to make children 
happy that it would be impossible to describe 
it all ; wherever they walk they find stalls in the 
streets, on which toys or cakes and sweets are 
sold; but perhaps what would interest Ameri- 


JAPAN AND KOREA 


225 


can girls more than anything else would be to 
hear about a feast kept on the 3d of March, 
called “The Feast of Dolls.” The name would 
lead us to believe that it is the grandest and 
happiest day in the whole year for girls, and 
so it is. 

Their dolls are on this day all displayed, and 
many a new one has been bought from the shops 
for the occasion. The dolls are mostly made 
of wood, or enameled clay, and are very prettily 
dressed ; and as girls play with their dolls until 
they are grown up, and then save them for their 
children, they collect until a great many are 
owned by one family. No doubt many little 
fans are hung upon the dolls, for we know that 
Japan, like China, is noted for its fans and 
pretty nicknacks. 

There is on the 5th of May also a special 
festival for boys called “The Feast of Flags.’ ’ 
The toys then consist of effigies of great gen- 
erals and heroes, and all kinds of weapons that 
are used in war, with many flags. In the same 
way that dolls were bought, two months before, 
for the girls, these toys are now bought for 
their brothers. 

Japanese children are very good mimics. 
The boys also like many athletic sports, espe- 
cially wrestling, and they play foot-ball, fly kites 
(beautiful ones made of tough paper, and rep- 
resenting a variety of things, even children). 
Then they walk very much on stilts. Girls are 
very fond of battledore and shuttlecock, the 

15 


226 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


shuttlecock being sometimes in the shape and 
form of a bird, and the battledore consisting 
of a flat piece of wood without any vellum. 
And blowing bubbles is a very favorite amuse- 
ment of Japanese children. 

Japanese toys are too numerous to describe, 
but so many of them have now come to Amer- 
ica that they are becoming familiar to us all. 

The Japanese are very clever acrobats and 
conjurors; they can do all kinds of marvelous 
tricks with paper butterflies and fans. By 
moving the fan gently the conjuror will make 
the “ butterfly’ ’ move and dip and fly quite like 
a live one. They also perform wonderful tum- 
bling feats, and by putting on curious head 
pieces with masks they can apparently twist 
and turn their bodies in a hideous and fantastic 
way. 

One thing we must mention with regard to 
a stall in the streets which delights little pur- 
chasers very much. A man sells all the mate- 
rials necessary to make a cake, and then allows 
his little customers to mix it themselves, and 
to cook it on his stove. 

So you see that both within and without of 
doors people do all they can to make the chil- 
dren happy, and how glad they must be in 
return to know that they are doing all in their 
power to give pleasure, by trying to be very 
loving, truthful and obedient! Besides loving 
and honoring their parents, Japanese children 
are also taught to honor all their ancestors. 


Chapter XXI. 

THE PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII. 

S AILING south from Japan we come in time 
to a great group of islands belonging to 
the United States, and go ashore in the 
large city of Manila. But let us get away from 
the cities and towns. There are too many 
foreigners in Manila, and we cannot see the real 
home life of the natives here. 

The Philippines, as you know, are composed 
of many islands, and upon them live many 
tribes of people, all belonging to the brown 
race, which is one of the great divisions of the 
human family, but very different in their ways 
of life. Some who live up in the mountains 
are so savage and wild that we cannot visit 
them in safety, but we shall find much of inter- 
est in the people of the island of Luzon and 
others near it. 

Early one morning we see a native standing 
on the roof of his bamboo hut waving a bolo, 
or kind of sword, in his hand, shouting: 4 ‘Go 
away, spirits; if you come near here you will 
get your throats cut. Don’t try to get inside 
to hurt my little one.” We wonder what this 
is all about until we follow him into the hut 
and see him tip-toe gently into a darkened room 
( 227 ) 


228 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


and kneel over a funny little bundle of baby- 
hood. 

Whenever the Filipinos hear the wind shriek- 
ing through the woods they think it is the cry of 
the soul of some poor child, stolen by these 
wicked spirits before the baby is baptized. We 
notice that the happy father is rubbing his nose 
and cheek all over his tiny son. But this is 
his way of kissing, and we do not doubt that 
it shows as much love as our own method. The 
baby’s nose is so flat that you could hardly tell 
there was any, except for the broad nostrils. 
His big black eyes roam over the room con- 
tinually, curious to see what kind of world it 
is that he has entered. 

Olo, as the little brown baby is called, finds 
himself lying on a mat of woven palm leaves, 
which are very sweet and fresh. The floor is 
made of split bamboo, flattened, and fastened 
close together, as are also the walls of his tiny 
room. There is something in Olo’s home that 
should make him feel very lucky indeed to have 
been born in this place, for whenever he turns 
his eyes toward the window he finds the light 
very soft and restful. The inner shells of a 
certain kind of oyster have been fitted into the 
window, and the sunshine, which is so brilliant 
in his land, shines through them with all the 
colors of the rainbow, for the shell breaks up „ 
the light into its many colors. 

The Filipino child is given his first party 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 229 


very much sooner than you were, since, when 
he is scarcely six days old, all the neighbors 
and relatives from a great distance come to 
call on him. They come quietly to the door-way 
and listen for a long time to find out if he and 
his mother are awake, for they would not dis- 
turb them for anything. They believe that 
when a person is asleep his soul goes wandering 
around the woods, and that if he were to be 
awakened suddenly his soul might not have time 
to get back again where it belonged. 

So the Tagals, for that is the name of these 
people, do not hurry into the room. In fact, 
they rarely hurry at all, and do not believe in 
doing anything suddenly. They could not 
appreciate our “surprise parties/ ’ But they 
do know how to make very fine speeches, and 
make the mother very proud as they praise her 
tiny little boy. 

We wonder at the number in the family who 
live here, including grandparents, cousins, and 
a helpless old man, but as we are asked so cor- 
dially to enter and become one of them, we see 
for the first time that they are a very kind- 
hearted people. They never turn anyone from 
their homes, as they feel that a visitor brings 
good luck. 

Soon the time has come for a great feast, and 
we hardly know whether or not to eat what is 
put before us, for it looks so peculiar. Nuts, 
cut in slices and wrapped in leaves, roasted 


230 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


buffalo and wild boar’s meat, a salad, made 
from the young green tops of the bamboo, 
stewed iguana, papaws, tamarind sauce, guavus 
and bananas, and plenty of cocoa wine and tuba. 
What is this placed before us with much cere- 
mony as a great dainty? Birds’ nests! The 
Chinese and the Filipinos are very fond of the 
nests which a certain kind of bird builds high 
up on the sides of steep cliffs, jutting out over 
the ocean. The twigs are fastened together 
with a kind of gum, which to them is delicious. 
It is very dangerous hunting for these on the 
steep sides of the rocks, for a single misstep, 
or the rolling of a stone underneath the foot, 
will hurl the risky hunter down upon the sharp 
rocks below. There are many Chinese in the 
Philippines, and they get along very well with 
our cousins there. 

The band has come from the village to play 
at the celebration, and we wonder how Olo’s 
father, who is very poor, can afford to give 
such a feast. But it has not cost him a cent. 
All the food has been given to him free by 
Mother Nature, and even the instruments on 
which the band performs are all made of bam- 
boo. In the evening we find beautiful fire- 
works, also supplied by Nature, for the fire- 
flies are so plentiful and so bright that they 
light up everything like tiny lanterns. 

We say “Good-bye” to our entertainers, and, 
after riding a little further, we think for a 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 231 


moment that we have traveled in a circle and 
come hack again, for there is a hnt exactly like 
the one we left. But we notice that this cannot 
be so, as a stream runs past and a strange little 
boy ten years old is riding around on a buffalo. 
In a moment three of his brothers and sisters 
come running out and climb up on the broad 
back of the carabao, as the Philippine water- 
buffalo is called. This animal is their greatest 
friend, and most loved by them after their own 
father and mother. He is gentle and kind, and 
does everything our little friends wish him to 
do. The rein is fastened to a piece of split 
rattan drawn through his nose, and it seems 
as though every motion of the children on his 
back is understood. 

He cannot work in the way our horses do, 
for after a few hours ’ work he must stop to 
rest. But more than anything else he loves to 
take a bath. Sometimes the children ride on 
his back when he goes into the river, and they 
are not frightened if he holds his head under 
water for even two minutes at a time while 
searching for food. Wherever he bathes, sev- 
eral white herons follow him as he ploughs 
about in the mud, for his heavy feet stir up 
worms and insects which give these birds their 
breakfast. This carabao has lived in the 
family since he was caught wild when a little 
baby, and is the friend and pet of the entire 
household. 


232 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


You would be surprised if you could see the 
little babies, having just learned to walk, swim- 
ming in the water with the greatest ease. 
Every Filipino child swims like a fish, and feels 
nearly as much at home in the water as if he 
were on land. They do not have to bother about 
dressing and undressing, for in the country the 
children rarely wear any clothes at all. The 
weather is so warm that there is no need for 
clothes throughout the year, and there is 
scarcely any change of temperature during the 
four seasons. 

The little boys and girls learn when very 
young to be obedient to their parents and 
respectful to those who are older. They always 
treat strangers with the greatest politeness. 
This is the case all through the East, in China, 
Japan and India, and is a very good way to 
bring up children. 

We like to see how early in life our little 
cousins help their father. When not old enough 
to work in the field, they watch for the monkeys 
who often destroy the rice crops, and chase 
them away when they come near. Sometimes 
they catch a very young one and tame it. 

Throughout the country we find enormous 
cocoanut trees. To get the sap from these, 
from which they make tuba, a drink which is 
greatly liked, only the young boys can be of 
service; their fathers are too heavy. It is 
dangerous work, but the boys seem to love 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 233 


danger, and we are glad to be able to watch 
Tonda, the oldest of this family, as he climbs the 
tree. 

When he first starts upward he cuts notches 
for his feet, and, when he has reached the top, 
fully sixty feet above the ground, he has still 
found no branches to help him in climbing — for 
the cocoanut tree does not have any. Tonda 
returns for bamboo pitchers, and with long, 
graceful steps climbs quickly to the top. From 
a deep cut in the trunk, directly under the great 
tuft of leaves at the top, the sap flows out into 
these queer-looking pitchers. But how does he 
get to the next tree? You say, of course, climb 
up in the same way, but Tonda likes to save 
himself that trouble. His father hands him 
up two long bamboo rods. He takes the first 
and stretches it across to the next tree. Over 
this he must walk. The second bamboo stick 
is stretched across for a hand-rail with which 
to steady himself. It would be a terrible fall 
should his slight bridge break in the middle 
but he does not seem to mind the danger. We 
are glad, however, when he has safely crossed 
over to the next tree. 

Another way in which Tonda can be very use- 
ful to his father is in gathering hemp and sep- 
arating the fibres from the pulp to be thrashed 
out and dried before they are packed. You have 
all heard of 4 ‘ Manila Hemp ; ’ ’ it is sent all over 
the world. It is our brown cousins, away off 


234 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


there in the Philippines, whom we have to thank 
for the delicate dress goods, carpets, hammocks 
and ropes which we nse so much. 

Some cocoannt trees are saved for the nuts 
which grow upon them three times a year; but 
it is easy work for Tonda to reach np, with a 
knife fastened to the end of a long pole, and 
cut them off . How could the Filipinos get along 
without this tree ! It is useful in so many ways, 
that we cannot even mention them all. Oil for 
lamps is obtained from the nut ; parts of it are 
used for medicine; canoes and furniture are 
made from its trunks. Ropes, brooms, brushes, 
bedding, baskets and mats are all made from 
parts of this wonderful tree, and the fresh cocoa- 
nut milk is the favorite drink in these islands. 

Tonda has a very peculiar way of fishing. 
He goes to the bank and lies down perfectly still. 
Soon he sees some fish rise near the surface 
of the water. Quickly he dives deep down where 
he has seen them, and when he again comes 
to the surface he has one in each hand. He 
hardly ever fails. We cannot understand how 
he is quick enough to seize them, or how he can 
hold them. 

But he must he careful to watch for croco- 
diles, for there are many in the waters where 
he catches his fish. Tonda at one time was 
nearly caught in the great, ugly jaws of one of 
them near his home. His father, seeing his 
danger, jumped into the water with a spear. 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 235 


Everybody knows that there is only one spot 
where you can hurt a crocodile, for his hide is 
so thick that even bullets glance off without 
harm. Tonda ’s father knew what he was doing, 
and as the crocodile swam towards this daring 
swimmer he found a long spear plunged into 
his body directly under the fore-legs. There 
was a terrible struggle, as the water streaked 
with blood was thrashed by the crocodile in its 
death agony. 

The first night Tonda was out hunting 
with his father for wild boars and deer, he 
heard a strange cry, which sounded like a human 
voice. Instantly his father seized his bow, and, 
calling to Tonda to follow, rushed into the 
forest. What a strange sight met their eyes! 
In the branches of a tree coiled a huge boa- 
constrictor. He was so large that he must have 
been a hundred years old. Held in the coils 
of his tail was a poor little deer, which he was 
slowly crushing to death. It was too late to 
save it, but before the huge serpent could 
attack them Tonda and his father had sent their 
arrows into his body, which ended his life. 
Tonda was too excited to go to sleep, so he 
begged his father to tell him a story. And this 
is what he heard: 

“A very poor young man fell in love with the 
daughter of a rich planter, and, having no 
money for his dowry, which is always required 
in this country, he offered to serve the girPs 


236 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 

\ *> 

father for two years to prove his worth .’ 9 
(This is often done in the Philippine Islands.) 
“ One day he wished to show how brave he was, 
and went out to kill a wild buffalo. There were 
others in the party, but he was allowed to take 
the place of honor, which, of course, is the place 
of greatest danger. The dogs had chased a 
tierce wild buffalo out of the woods, and the 
furious animal charged straight for this young 
man. With lasso in hand he went to meet it; 
the lasso was thrown ; hut he had failed. Before 
he could escape the buffalo had thrown him 
from his horse and killed him.” We would not 
think that a story like this would help to make 
us sleepy, but Tonda was so tired that it could 
not keep him awake any longer. 

Tonda loved to hear his father tell of the wild 
Negritos, a tribe of little savages, not five feet 
high, who use poisoned arrows and steal from 
their hiding places in the mountains to rob and 
kill their neighbors. They live on roots and 
fruits and generally eat their meat raw. They 
can shoot so well with the bow and arrow that 
they can hit and kill fish underneath the water 
in this way. They live in huts which look like 
bee-hives and crawl into them through a small 
hole in one side. 

We were surprised one day to see everyone 
running around in the wildest manner, collect- 
ing cocoanuts, tin pans, red flags, bamboo clap- 
pers, and anything that can make a noise. We 



Fishing With Bow and Arrow. 



















PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 237 


find them all running out to the fields of sugar- 
cane, and we follow in haste to see what is the 
matter. A great black cloud is coming rapidly 
toward us, and, as it gets closer, the buzzing 
noise which reaches our ears tells us that mil- 
lions and millions of locusts form the cloud. 
Waving the flags, and making greater noise 
than you and I have ever heard on our glorious 
“ Fourth of July,” the natives are trying to 
scare them away, for if they should light in the 
sugar-cane the leaves would be entirely 
destroyed in a very few minutes. But the 
locusts do not like a noise, and we are very 
thankful when they have passed over our heads. 

Many feast days are kept in the Philippine 
Islands, hut, strange to say, there is none which 
is recognized by all of them. Each village has 
its own feast days; but we hope, before long, 
that they will all join with us in celebrating our 
Christmas and other holidays with as much 
spirit as we do ourselves. 

We are afraid the Filipinos do not like us 
very much at present, for they have no reason 
to love the white men. They have only known 
the Spaniards, who often treated them badly, 
but they are now our cousins, and it should 
be our wish to teach them to have faith in us and 
we should do all we can to understand their 
needs and show that we are generous and are 
glad to share with them the good things which 
we are so lucky to have in our own dear country. 


238 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


On our way back to America, let us stop off 
for a short visit to the Hawaiian or Sandwich 
Islanders. 

You have learned in school, no doubt, that 
some time ago these people — another branch 
of the great brown family — became displeased 
with their rulers and asked for our protection. 
We gave it to them, and they became our adop- 
ted children. Under the rule of this country, 
nearly all their old customs and habits of liv- 
ing have been changed. The children all go to 
school during the week and to church on Sun- 
day ; but they are peculiar and ditf erent from us 
in many ways. Out in the country we still find 
them living in houses made entirely of grass. 
Their hut is a perfect bower, very beautiful 
among trees and flowers which, in America, we 
see only in hot houses. The only floor in these 
huts consists of the ground paved with stones ; 
the only furniture, if we can call it such, is a 
great number of mats, woven from grass, piled 
in the corner. These serve for beds, screens 
and couches. The roofs are made of a peculi- 
arly bladed grass, carefully thatched and 
twisted so that no water can enter. 

The weather is like that of the Philippines, so 
warm all the year round that the natives live out 
of doors all day long. Their food is cooked out of 
doors, and they eat their meals sitting around in 
the shade. They still cling to their favorite food 
—a big bowl or caldron of steaming poi. The 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 239 


children dip their fingers in like so many “ Jack 
Horners/ ’ This poi is made from kalo, a root 
which grows in water, and is very carefully 
cultivated. The root is baked and then beaten 
out. The preparation of this food takes some 
time, as the beaten mass is very sticky and 
when ‘ ‘pulped’ ’ must be left to ferment. They 
roll this sticky paste very skilfully around their 
fingers and never drop any of it. Besides this, 
they have forty kinds of fruit within easy reach, 
so they are not likely to starve. 

The little boys and girls are wonderful swim- 
mers. They carry into the ocean a long piece 
of board about two feet wide. With this they 
swim out beyond the heavy surf which breaks 
upon their white coast. It is wonderful how 
they balance themselves on this. Waiting for 
a very large wave they swim hard and fly in 
to shore upon it like the wind. Some of them 
are able to kneel on this board, and even stand 
upon it, keeping their balance on a single wave 
as it dashes on. 

In many places off the coast there are coral 
reefs. The natives paddle out to these in their 
canoes, looking down through the clear, crystal, 
water for fish. Suddenly the native will rise to 
his feet, seizing in one hand a small fish-net and 
in the other a broad leaf. In a moment he has 
dived deep down, almost out of sight. We fear 
that he will never come up again, but at last his 
head bobs up and the net is half full of fish, 


240 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


which, he has shoved into it with the broad leaf. 

These fish are of many colors, blue, yellow, 
green, pink, purple and red. There is one which 
seems very funny to us. It is perfectly round 
in shape, except for a long transparent ribbon 
fastened to its nose. The back is covered with 
black and yellow stripes, and our Hawaiian 
cousins are very proud when they succeed in 
capturing one. When the fishermen return and 
approach the surf, they all wait for a big, high 
breaker, and then, balanced on the top of this, 
they race for shore. This is so much fun that 
they often paddle out and shoot in again and 
again. 

It is a common custom for the children to 
swim to school. They can often be seen with 
their clothing in a small bundle on their heads, 
easily and gracefully gliding through the water. 
It is really less exertion for them than walking. 
All of our clothing we might find difficult to 
carry on our heads, but their costume is so very 
slight that they do not notice its weight. 

The Hawaiians, except in water, are extra- 
ordinarily lazy. In fact, even when swimming 
their motions are so slow and easy that they 
seem very lazy then. They take life easy and 
are free from care. Nearly every child has a 
pony or a horse, for the people are great riders 
and will not think of walking for more than a 
few rods. Although they do not actually ride to 
“ next-door,’ ’ they jump upon their horses to go 


PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII 241 


very short distances. The mothers of the little 
boys and girls lie in the shade and do nothing 
all day. Their langh is as joyous as their chil- 
dren’s, and their hands are without any marks 
of labor. They are as soft and as dimpled as 
a baby’s. 

Long, long ago the huge furnace of Nature 
threw up these islands in the middle of the 
ocean, and even now there are active volcanoes 
throughout the country. The largest active vol- 
ano is called Kilayea. The people had many 
superstitions about it and Pele, its goddess, was 
believed to require many sacrifices to satisfy 
her anger. Animals of all kinds, and sometimes 
even human beings, were thrown into the moun- 
tain’s fiery crater to prevent Pele from hurling 
great clouds of rocks and ashes upon them, and 
of sending fiery rivers of lava to destroy their 
villages. At last a queen, called Kapiolani saw 
how foolish this was. Gathering her frightened 
subjects around her, she boldly walked up the 
side of the mountain, and when she had reached 
the very mouth of the crater she dared Pele to 
do her worst. Turning to her followers, she 
openly declared that there was no such goddess, 
and that no harm would come to her for saying 
this. The people, of course, expected fiery 
waves to leap up and destroy them, but nothing 
happened. This put an end to the cruel sacri- 
fices. 

The children in Hawaii are more cheerful and 

16 


242 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


playful than almost any others, and are gen- 
erally laughing. Most of them can speak Eng- 
lish, and are adopting our own games. The 
native “ wild’ ’ children are few, and do nothing 
except idle away their time and run about when 
they are not attending school. 

We might sum up their whole life by saying 
that they care for nothing, and take no trouble 
except in amusing themselves. They are good- 
looking, and are all extremely fond of flowers, 
liking to deck themselves with many colored 
wreaths. They wear bright dresses, and are 
very sunny and pleasant in one of the sunniest 
and pleasantest climes in the world — a perfect 
paradise for children. 


Chapter XXII. 

ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS. 

W E shall now take a visit to one of the 
most interesting people in the world, 
the little Eskimos of Northern Alaska. 
We know that their land is covered with snow 
for nearly all the year, and it is so bitterly cold 
there that few of yon could live in the way that 
they do. But the little Eskimo baby, strapped 
to his mother’s back, thinks there is a great 
deal to see as for the first time he is allowed 
to look around on the wide stretches of snow 
and ice. There is not a sign anywhere of any- 
thing like a house. His mother does not allow 
him to stay out long in the cold, for soon she 
crawls into what looks like a hole in the snow, 
and going along a dark tunnel, finally climbs 
up through a trap-door into the room where the 
family live. 

The walls are of snow, the roof is of snow, 
and a bench of snow around half of the room 
serves as the beds, for several families live 
together in this snow mansion. These houses, 
if we may call them by that name, are out of 
reach of the bitter wind. The only lamp con- 
sists of a hole dug out with great labor in a 
stone. This lamp is a stove also, for it heats 
the room. The oil is obtained from the seal. 

( 243 ) 


244 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


When the baby enters this room his skin cap 
is not taken off, for he must keep this on day 
and night for a year at least, as it is tightly 
fitted to his head so as to make his forehead 
taper upward, which is looked upon as a great 
mark of beauty among the Eskimos. 

Baby Etu, as his mother calls him, must be 
taught to get used to the hardships and the 
cold that will be his through life, and very soon 
he is rolled in the snow for this purpose. When 
he was horn there was a small dark spot on 
his back. In time this grew and spread over 
the boy’s entire body, making him yellow; but 
if we were to visit him to-day, we would see 
that a great deal of the yellow could be removed 
by the simple magic of soap and water, for he 
never takes a hath. 

You might think he was a rather unpleasant 
hoy to know, but it is so cold that he really needs 
all the covering he can get, even if it is a cloak 
of grease and dirt. His first clothes are very 
different from ours. It takes his mother many 
weeks of constant work to make him his little 
suit. In the first place, he has long stockings 
of reindeer skin, the furry side next his body; 
then socks with the downy skin from eider- 
ducks; stout boots of seal-skin, with soles of 
thick whale-hide, are drawn up over his hips in 
exactly the same way as his father’s and 
mother’s are also. 

The jacket is reindeer skin with a warm hood. 


ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS 245 


which he draws over his head. He has no trou- 
ble with buttons, for there are none on his 
clothes and no pins, either. We wonder how 
he could get into his coat, but it is slipped on 
over his head. It seems strange to us that Etu’s 
boots could be water-tight, but his mother is 
such a wonderful seamstress that, with threads 
of deer sinews, she can sew them so tight that 
no drop of water can possibly enter. This is not 
easy to do and she has to use her teeth chew- 
ing the seams to keep them soft while she works. 
In that way in time her teeth are all worn out. 

The father and big brothers are out all day 
hunting seal and bear or reindeer to supply 
the family with food, and Etu, as he grows up, 
longs for the time when he can do his share. 
In the meantime, however, he has his indoor 
games, which please him just as much as your 
favorite toys please you. He has a round ball 
made of sealskin which he, according to their 
rules, is to keep in the air by kicking it without 
using his hands, and how he does laugh! You 
would think that he had little to laugh at, but 
the Eskimos seem always “on the grin.” The 
dogs would come to the opening into their home 
and Etu would never tire of trying to hit them 
with his little toys carved out of ivory, but they 
were always too quick for him. 

When he grows older he enjoys being tossed 
to the ceiling in a blanket, in this way learning 
to keep his feet and stand erect as he shoots 


246 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


up and down in the air. Though the thermome- 
ter stands at sixty or seventy degrees below 
zero, he and his companions sometimes roll in 
the snow until they look like a ball of fur, and 
down the hill over and over they go to the 
bottom, and jumping up, shake off the dry snow, 
and laugh till they are out of breath. 

On the long winter evenings there are many 
pleasant hours for our little Eskimo cousins, 
for the whole family gather round the smoky 
lamp and tell stories. There are many adven- 
tures and narrow escapes from dangers of all 
kinds to be told by the men; and Etu’s little 
heart beats fast as he thinks of the time when 
he, too, will take part in them. There are tales 
about meeting big polar bears, and about long 
hunts when they had to kill something to eat, 
or die of hunger. Besides, the Eskimos have 
many quaint legends and fairy stories, and 
believe in the magic of unseen beings around 
them of whom some are good and some bad. 

We wonder why his mother and sister come 
in so quickly when the moon is shining, but Etu 
could tell you that there is a bad spirit which 
roams around in its light trying to harm any- 
one he can find. Etu thinks that this dreadful 
being goes far off in the sky and whittles the 
white tusk of a walrus. These shavings are 
changed by some magic into snow-flakes as they 
come down and fall in blinding clouds on the 
earth. But the moon is useful to them, for 


ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS 247 


they reckon time by its coming and going. 
Their months are simply “ moons .’ 7 Some- 
times in the evening they have music also, but 
not on the piano, which you are trying to learn. 
Their music consists in humming over and over 
again a tuneless sort of chant which you would 
think rather tiresome, but which they seem to 
enjoy very much, for they keep it up for hours 
together. 

The young folks at home must be kept busy, 
for there is much to be learned by both the little 
boy and girl. The latter must learn to sew 
as well as her mother, and make a thread from 
reindeer sinews. One of the hardest things 
Etu has to learn as he grows older, is how to 
drive and control his team of wolf-dogs, which 
are to be useful to him all his life. He must 
keep his seat on the little sled and must learn 
to use his long whip. You may not think this 
very hard, but the handle is six inches long, 
while the lash is at least sixteen feet. To throw 
it and bring it back, and hit only the dogs that 
need it, and to keep it from becoming tangled 
in their harness or around their feet takes 
months of practice. 

He picks out the best dog of his own pack 
and makes him leader. It is to this dog that 
he gives the greatest attention, and it grows to 
be very fond of him, Though he is often upset 
and dragged along in the cold snow, he loves 
the work more than anything he has yet done, 


248 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


for it is his first step toward manhood. It is 
a proud day for him when he is sent to a village 
many miles away with a message from his 
father. 

Soon he learns how to make his own sledge 
and the harness for his own dogs. The sledge 
is not made like ours, for wood cannot he had 
in this far-away land, except the little which 
drifts ashore. He uses the jaws of a whale for 
the framework and runners; sealskin is fitted 
over this framework, and the sledge is complete. 

When only nine years old, little Etu starts 
off with his father fishing and shooting, but of 
course, only on quiet days, for it will be several 
years before he can manage his own boat. 
Long before he is able to do this, he begins to 
collect driftwood with which to make the frame- 
work, but when the time has come to build it 
he would be helpless without his mother. She 
takes the skins of seals and cuts away all the 
blubber and flesh from within, and then scrapes 
off the hair. The skin must he stretched, for 
Etu’s first boat must be without a wrinkle. 

After being sewed by his wonderful mother 
so that they are entirely waterproof, they are 
drawn tightly over the framework and across 
the top of his long, sharp-pointed boat, making 
the entire boat look like a big cigar, except that 
a small, round hole is left in the middle into 
which he can fit himself. He must have a special 
coat of fur which will entirely fill this opening, 


ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS 249 


so that not a drop of water ean get in. In this 
little kayak, as the Eskimo boat is called, he 
has to go out in waves and storms that would 
frighten us in a big boat, and the water is often 
dashed completely over him; so there must be 
no danger of its getting inside. He has made 
his own strong paddle with two blades, and is 
already very skilful though only twelve years of 
age. 

A big hunt for seal has been arranged by his 
father and his friends, and Etu is to go along 
with them. His harpoon, a spear of wood 
pointed with bone or iron, is fastened to a 
long cord of seal hide. If he should succeed in 
hitting a seal with this, and should hold on to 
the end of the cord, he might he dragged com- 
pletely under water, so a buoy is fastened to 
the end, made, as everything else seems to be 
in this land, of sealskin. 

For a long time our party paddle without 
seeing a sign of any game, but at last Etu’s 
father succeeds in capturing the first seal, then 
another long paddle is made without a find. 
At last Etu sees a brown head rising into view, 
and he sits quite still ; but as soon as it has sunk 
out of sight he paddles with all his might and 
main to that spot waiting for the head to rise 
again. The moment it does so, our little friend 
hurls his harpoon and buries it deep in the seal’s 
body. 

Quick as a flash the buoy is thrown over- 


250 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


board and Etu hastily paddles away from the 
enraged seal, which is splashing around in the 
water in a very dangerous mood. Finally, as 
the seal’s motions grow less violent, Etu draws 
near and mercifully ends its struggles with his 
spear. How proud he is! Ilis father’s words 
of praise are the sweetest music he has ever 
heard. He asks permission to treat all of the 
party, which he does with much laughter. Sev- 
eral other seals are captured, and when they 
return home they find their wives and sisters 
waiting for them and glad to learn of Etu’s skill 
and success. 

Such a feast as they have that night! We 
might think that we would not like it, for what 
they eat is the thick layer of blubber beneath the 
skin, the blood scooped out, and the ribs of the 
seal for meat, all taken raw. They are very 
fond of this and think it the best kind of food, 
and even our American boy, with his good appe- 
tite, would be unable to swallow the quantity 
which Etu with the greatest ease stows away 
in his marvelous stomach. For hours they sit 
there and eat and eat and eat, for they may not 
get any food again for two or three days. They 
have no regular mealtimes, and when they do 
eat they do not stop until, even with them, there 
is room for no more. 

At least once each year they are in danger of 
starving. The weather may become so terrible, 
and the wind so fierce, and the snow storms so 


ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS 251 


blinding, that even the strongest men do not 
dare to go out in search of food, and the little 
supply which they have hid away may have been 
smelled by a prowling pack of wolves and stolen. 
In such times the poor Eskimos have even to 
chew on the skins of the seals in order to live. 

As soon as the snow storm comes to an end, 
Etu takes his favorite dog and goes on a hunt 
by himself; but the dog is not merely for com- 
pany. With his keen nose he may smell a long 
way off the tiny opening into the home of the 
mother seal and its little baby. Etu is filled with 
joy when his dog with a yelp dashes straight for 
a little mound of snow which Etu had not 
noticed at all. Inside this home is a little room. 
The floor is of ice. In the middle is a hole 
into the water where the mother goes in search 
of food for her baby. Stealing up quietly he 
listens, and as soon as the splashing below is 
heard, he drives his spear through the roof, 
and a sharp tug at the cord which is fastened 
to it shows him that he has succeeded. After a 
short struggle he breaks into the little hut, and 
with a cry of delight hauls his victim out on 
the ice. He hurries home, not minding his 
frosted nose, thinking only of the happiness 
which his news will mean when he arrives. 

But Etu has yet to prove himself a man. A 
boy after ten years of age is not allowed to 
have anything to do with his little girl friends 
until he has killed a bear, and that is now his 
greatest wish. 


252 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


The polar bear, when he feels the cold winter 
weather coming, eats all he can get for weeks at 
a time, and then buries himself in a bank of 
snow to sleep through the long months of frost 
and snow. The mound of snow in which the 
bear sleeps is much larger than that of the 
seal, and when Etu first sees what he believes 
to be the home of a bear, he hurries away after 
his dogs, for without them, he could not hope 
to kill one of these huge animals. 

The dogs are as fearless as their young mas- 
ter. They tear through the roof ; and soon the 
bear is out, with all the dogs snapping at his 
heels, trying to keep his attention from Etu, 
who hastens to thrust his spear as deep as his 
strength will allow in the big furry body. Etu 
has brought several spears with him, and he has 
to be very active, for one blow from the huge 
paws would knock him senseless. Many times 
it would seem that he could not escape those 
fearful jaws; but the spear wounds are begin- 
ning to take effect, and at last the big creature 
falls dead. 

Now indeed little Etu is a hero. He is made 
much of by his mother, but he cares a great deal 
more for the simple praises of his father and 
big brothers, who have been heroes before him. 

When the long winter is past, the Eskimos 
leave their underground homes, and travel 
along the coast. Now the men can much more 
easily hunt for the seal, and may even capture 


ALASKA AND THE ESKIMOS 253 


a whale. Their homes are made in a very short 
time by placing blocks of ice one above the other, 
each one a little nearer inside, until they meet 
like a big white ant-hill at the top. We wonder 
how the builders within are to get out, but a 
door is cut, and the home is complete. It is 
easy now to get game of all kinds. There are 
great flocks of eider-ducks, from which they 
get the soft, downy feathers, which we like to 
have in our pillows. Reindeer can he easily 
killed, even by Etu with his bow and arrows, 
and salmon are caught in the rivers. 

As the weather gets warmer the family 
journey southward. They leave their ice huts 
and live in tents made from seal skin. Well 
supplied with furs of all kinds, with seal oil 
and ivory tusks of the walrus, the Eskimos 
collect at the “'stations” where traders come 
in their boats to exchange for these things the 
much needed copper kettles and tobacco. At 
these “stations” they stay for two or three 
weeks, and when not busy buying and selling, 
they spend their time dancing, singing, and 
story telling both day and night. 

If any stray books should he left by the 
traders, we fear that Etu and his brothers and 
sisters could not read them, for they have never 
been taught to read any language. It has been 
thought more necessary to teach the little girl 
how to help her mother, and the little boy how 
to hunt and fish in order that he may do his 


254 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


share in supplying the family with the food 
which is so hard to get. And thus it is that 
little Etu’s life is passed. It is very different, 
as you may see, from your lives, but the young 
Eskimo boys and girls have their hours of fun 
and frolic, and as for the cold which would 
make us all shiver, they grow so used to it that 
they mind it no more than we do the autumn 
winds. People can be happy anywhere, if they 
have warm hearts and healthy bodies. 


Chapter XXIII. 

CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

N OT far south of the United States lies 
the beautiful West India island of Cuba, 
in which, not many years ago, a war 
was fought between our soldiers and those of 
Spain. It was the cruel way in which the Span- 
iards treated the Cubans that brought on this 
war. When it ended, the Cubans were a free 
nation. 

Cuba, as you know, is in the tropical zone, 
and you should know that all peoples who live 
in hot climates have very much in common. 
Anywhere in the island we can find the tall, 
beautiful palms, the ebony and mahogany trees, 
and underneath them the creeping vines and 
bushes. We find our little neighbors are dark 
and sunburned, with dark hair and soft, black 
eyes. They are very fond of the beautiful flow- 
ers which grow there so richly, and love their 
charming island. 

They still speak the Spanish language, but 
English is now being taught in the schools, to 
which many of the little Cubans are going for 
the first time, so it will not be long before they 
will be speaking our own tongue. 

If we had visited Cuba before the war we 

( 255 ) 


256 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


would have found many big sugar plantations, 
some more than a square mile in extent. Sugar- 
making was stopped by the war, but it is now 
busily going on again. The owners of these big 
places live in houses which are very large and 
low. We ask what they are made of, for we 
have seen nothing like them in our own country. 
It is neither brick, nor stone, nor wood, but is 
called “adobe.”* This “adobe” is a mixture of 
clay and sand dried by the sun, which soon 
becomes hard, and is of a yellow color. 

We can see no glass in the windows, for it is 
so warm that glass would keep out too much 
air, so instead they have iron bars across the 
casements; and we must say that they seem 
like prisons to those who are not accustomed 
to them. 

In the long rooms within, chairs are not 
arranged in our home-like manner, but in two 
long rows opposite each other against the walls. 

We are fortunate to arrive at the time for 
cutting the sugar cane, for we are sure to find 
it very interesting. Over a hundred black men 
and women are working day and night chopping 
down the tall sugar canes with broad bladed 
swords called machetes. How high the canes 
are, reaching way up over our heads! Their 
leaves hang down from the stalks, and far up 
on each plant is a feathery white plume. When 
the stalk becomes yellow it is the sign that the 


♦Pronounced ad-6-be. 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


257 


cane is full of sap. The stalks are then cut 
down, loaded on wagons, and drawn to the mill 
by small oxen. Nearly all of sugar-making in 
this age is done by machinery. The canes are 
crushed between big rollers, and the sap runs 
down into big buckets. 

As we watch the machinery the little negro 
who is carrying the buckets gives us a stalk 
to suck, for it is very sweet, and all of the 
Cubans, both old and young, like it as much 
as we do our sticks of candy. 

Sunday afternoon is a holiday for the busy 
workers, and we visit the ‘ 4 quarters,’ ’ as the 
servants ’ homes are called. Here we find a 
long row of huts, which we might call sheds, 
with roofs of thatched palm leaves. Chickens 
are running around everywhere, and there seem 
to be as many pig-pens, with their grunting 
occupants, as there are huts. 

On this Sunday afternoon the negroes are 
decked in their best clothes and brightest colors. 
All the cheap jewelry which they have been able 
to buy is worn, and the girls are very proud 
as they strut around, reminding us of the pea- 
cock, that silly bird, which is dressed so 
gorgeously in its many colors. 

Boys are playing ball, but their game is one 
that we do not understand. We cannot call 
it baseball, for it is nothing like it. A man is 
beating wildly on a drum, and one pair of dan- 
cers after another are keeping perfect time to 
17 


258 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


his music. Faster and faster they whirl round 
until exhausted. 

We notice two little children playing domi- 
noes, and seeing how handsome these are we 
wonder how they could have afforded to buy 
them; but they were made by the little picka- 
ninny, with his own hands, from the wood of 
an ebony tree. The little white points set in 
the dominoes have been carefully cut from 
alligators ’ teeth. 

The little blacks cannot read and write, and 
do not care at all for any kind of learning. 
Why should they want learning, they argue, 
when they have plantations to satisfy their hun- 
ger and (we must say it) plenty of cigars to 
smoke, and hammocks to swing in. 

All the blacks were slaves not very long ago, 
and the little boy who was playing dominoes 
has heard how his grandfather, when living 
happily in Africa hunting the elephant and 
panther, and scaring away the monkeys from 
the cornfields, was captured one day with all 
his friends by some white men who took them 
in chains into a big boat, and carried them, after 
a long and dreadful voyage, to Cuba, where they 
were sold as slaves. A few of these slaves in 
Cuba worked so hard and faithfully that they 
were able to buy their liberty; but they were 
not all freed until many years after their black 
brothers in this country. 

In Cuba there are many wonderful caves. 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


259 


Long shining pendants hang from the roof as 
clear as diamonds, and other crystal-like spears 
seem to point upwards to meet them. Caves 
like these are so much larger and more wonder- 
ful in Porto Rico that we shall visit the ones 
there instead of in Cuba. The fire-flies also 
are wonderfully large and give a bright light, 
as they do in most tropical countries. 

The little girls and boys love to hear from 
their fathers old stories about their ancestors 
who were led by Columbus to this new world, 
and he never tires of telling them. When 
Columbus arrived there he found the natives 
very peaceful, kind and gentle, and he wrote 
back to Spain that this ‘ ‘ Pearl of the Antilles, ’ ’ 
as he called Cuba, is “as much more grand and 
beautiful than any other land as the day is 
brighter than the night .’ 9 

The natives whom the Spaniards found here 
were bronze in color like the Indians of North 
America, and the women painted their bodies 
red and adorned their heads with brilliantly 
colored feathers of birds. Wild maize, and 
many kinds of fruit grew richly, and for meat 
they ate the iguana, or great lizard. There are in 
Cuba many of these ugly reptiles, which look like 
big lizards, with horny back and long tail and 
jaws like an alligator, but which are not as 
fierce as they look. 

The natives were very cruelly treated, and 
though they defended themselves as bravely as 


260 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


possible, they had no weapons but the bow and 
arrow, and spears sharpened with bone. They 
were no match for the white man. We are told 
that when Bartholomew Columbus was gov- 
ernor, he journeyed around the island collecting 
tribute. The natives gave him freely and will- 
ingly all the gold they had, knowing how much 
the Spaniards craved it. One chief sent a large 
procession of women to meet him, each one 
bearing the branch of a palm tree, the sign of 
submission ; then followed a train of young girls. 
A great feast was prepared in the chief’s palace. 
Nothing was forgotten which could entertain 
the visitors. Feasting, games, and dancing 
were kept up for four days. When the visitors 
left they were loaded with presents, and sup- 
plied with an escort for the balance of their 
journey. But how wickedly these hospitable, 
trusting natives were treated in return for all 
their kindness, for the Spaniards were so eager 
for riches that they made slaves of the poor 
natives, and before many years they were 
nearly all dead from hard work and cruel 
treatment. 

Let us now visit another of these West India 
islands and see our little brothers and sisters 
of Porto Rico, and be sure to make them know 
how glad we are to meet them, for the Porto 
Ricans have now come among us as part of our 
own people. As we sail toward this beautiful 
island over clear, blue water, we* may see a 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


261 


shoal of flying fish darting over the water pur- 
sued by a larger fish. We are told that this is 
a dolphin, and as it glides rapidly through the 
water, its black sides like burnished gold change 
into many shades and tints of color in the sun- 
light. But the dolphin is hungry, and chases 
the flying fish for food, and when he reaches 
them he leaps upward and snaps them up one 
after another in his great jaws. The flying- 
fish, so-called, do not really fly, you know, but 
when chased by an enemy, they can jump many 
feet into the air and skim along with their fins 
spread out like wings. 

At last we arrive at San Juan, the capital of 
Porto Rico. The streets and the sidewalks are 
so narrow that we cannot even walk side by 
side without almost being pushed into the street. 
Milkmen ride up to the houses astride of their 
donkeys, their milk cans jostling against each 
other beneath their legs. Sometimes the owner 
of a cow leads her through the streets, and 
draws the milk just as the people want it. In 
that way our Porto Rican cousins feel sure that 
it is not “ watered/ ’ 

In each town of Porto Rico there is a market 
place where the people of all shades and colors 
sell their goods. In the evenings the people 
all gather in this public square to sit around 
and listen to a band of music. But the life in 
the cities and towns is not very interesting, 
and country life is much more agreeable. So 
let us visit a large coffee plantation. 


262 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


We arrive at nine o’clock in the morning, and 
yet no one seems to be about. We look inside 
and find a little boy still sound asleep. The 
•nurse enters and places a tray beside his bed. 
Fresh water and a towel are brought to the boy 
in which to bathe his hands and face, and thick 
rich chocolate with a dainty roll are given him 
for his breakfast. His father and mother have 
their breakfast in their own bed room at the 
same time, and so it is with all the other mem- 
bers of his family. 

It does not take our little cousin long to 
dress, for he wears only a little white shirt and 
white trousers during the day time, and he will 
tell you that most of his little friends wear 
nothing at all. The children are so much more 
comfortable without clothes that it is a sad day 
to them when at nine or ten years of age, their 
mothers make them dress. 

Our little friend takes much delight in show- 
ing us his treasures. In a little net he has many 
beetles. They are not very pretty, but at night 
they will be more beautiful than any precious 
stone that we know of. They are very large 
fire-flies and glow brightly in the darkness, 
giving forth red and green and blue lights. 
People can even read by their lights, for the 
fire-flies of Porto Rico are the largest and most 
brilliant in the whole world. The girls and 
their big sisters and mothers love to wear them 
in their hair and in their dresses at night; for 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


263 


what jewelry could be as bright and sparkling? 

At ten o ’clock our little friend must begin to 
study his lessons. He must learn to speak 
French and a little Italian, but arithmetic and 
other grammar school studies are not thought 
much of. Very few of them have even been in 
a public school, and only the wealthier chil- 
dren are able to read and write, four-fifths of 
the little Porto Ricans being entirely ignorant. 
The girl must learn to embroider, and to sing 
and play a little on the guitar, and if she can 
do this her mother considers her a very accom- 
plished little girl. She must also learn to dance 
gracefully. All through Porto Rico we shall 
find music and dancing. 

Breakfast time comes at eleven o’clock, but 
very little which we eat would be enjoyable to 
them, for it would be flat and tasteless com- 
pared to their salads highly seasoned with the 
hot cayenne pepper, and their strongly flavored 
foods of all kinds. After breakfast cigars are 
served to all the family. The children have 
used tobacco since they were four years old, 
and we cannot wonder that they are short, and 
have so little strength, and that they care so 
little for active games. All the family go to 
sleep again after breakfast, for they must have 
their afternoon “siesta” or sleep. Later in the 
evening, when it begins to get cooler, we are 
shown around the coffee plantations. 

At the time of our visit the coffee trees are 


264 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


a mass of snow-white blossoms. Rows of palms 
and shade trees grow on either side to protect 
them from the sun’s fiery rays. The petals of 
the coffee flowers are collected as they drop 
upon the ground to be put in a jar, and carried 
into the house, where their delicate scent will 
fill the house with perfume. When the autumn 
comes, the berries are picked, then washed and 
hulled by machinery; but they are not ready 
for market until thoroughly dried. The ser- 
vants are busy in these fields at other seasons, 
for between the trees sweet potatoes and other 
vegetables are grown. The laborers, whose 
fathers were negro slaves, are not paid in 
money, but in a certain number of plantains, 
a fruit much like the banana. 

When the evening meal is over, we hear the 
convent bells ringing, and at once all bend their 
heads in silence. Even the little boys and girls 
like these quiet moments. 

Night comes suddenly in this land, and the 
sun disappears all at once. There is no long 
twilight such as we have. The stars come out 
with wonderful brilliancy, and the fireflies make 
it seem like fairyland to us. The sound of 
mandolins and singing comes from the servants’ 
quarters, and we walk over to look at them. 
The dancing is very wild and exciting and 
makes one dizzy just to watch it. 

If we could understand Spanish, we would be 
greatly interested by the stories which they tell 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


265 


as they gather round in a big circle. They have 
many tales of animals who could think and talk 
like human beings, and they never tire of repeat- 
ing legends of their race in their old home in Af- 
rica before they were stolen to be sold as slaves. 
When the last story is ended, an old negro 
starts a song which he has not learned from 
books, but which has been handed down to him 
through centuries. It is a song about a beauti- 
ful star that has always seemed to be the friend 
and companion of these poor ignorant people. 

Although the warm climate of these islands 
brings beautiful flowers and trees, there are 
many things which come also with them which 
we would not like. We must certainly look 
under the bed at night, but not for burglars. 
There are scorpions and centipedes which creep 
into the house unseen, sometimes even into the 
beds. Their sting, though not fatal, causes 
great pain and suffering. Mosquitoes and 
fleas are always plentiful and almost any night 
you might wake with an attack from hundreds 
of cruel little ants. 

But, curiously enough, there are no poisonous 
snakes in Porto Rico. In nearly all of the 
other West Indies the most deadly snake of the 
western world is found. It is called the fer- 
de-lance, and came to these islands on logs 
which drifted over from South America. 

We could not be persuaded to stay in Porto 
Rico during the summer months, for the most 


266 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


terrible tornadoes then may sweep over the 
islands, tearing down houses, and causing the 
greatest damage. No one is safe unless he 
takes refuge in a cave in the rocks, and this 
reminds us that in this island there are many 
very wonderful caverns. The largest are up on 
the mountain slopes, and we enter through black 
openings in the rocks, and travel along a damp 
passage way. There are spiders in here and an 
army of bats fly over our heads alarmed at our 
entrance. 

Once inside, we find ourselves in a vast fairy- 
like hall as beautiful as Aladdin’s palace. 
From the high roof hundreds of sparkling white 
pendants hang down within reach of our hands. 
They shine like the finest marble, and some are 
beautifully tinted in blue and green. Along the 
walls white columns rise from the floor to the 
dome, with delicate patterns worked on them 
by the dropping of water from above. These 
pendants or stalactites are made by the water 
trickling through the rocks above and leaving 
particles of lime, which slowly makes its way 
downward. We can travel at least a mile under- 
ground, and here and there large holes seem to 
sink down into nothingness. If we were 
fastened to a rope and lowered into one of 
these, the wonderful stalactite formations 
would be all around us just the same. Under- 
ground rivers often dash through these caverns. 

There are legends of a girl who saved her- 


CUBA AND PORTO RICO 


267 


self from her enemies by swimming into the 
cave below the surface of the river, and of 
warriors who escaped in the same way from 
their pursuers. In these rivers, fish are blind, 
never having been able to use the eyesight 
which they once had. Land crabs scamper 
away, and for all the beauty and wonder of 
these caverns, we are glad to get back into the 
clear air outside. 

There is a certain side of life in Porto Rico 
to which we would like to shut our eyes, but 
we cannot help noticing the cruel sport of cock 
fighting, which is so universal there. Even 
the poorest man has his game-cock, to which 
he gives the most careful and loving attention, 
and Sunday is the day when these fights take 
place. The little boys and girls all go, but it 
is not thought proper for their older sisters 
and mothers to attend. Everyone must pay 
admission to the show. A large space covered 
with sawdust is cleared in the middle. This is 
where the cocks fight. On one side we see a 
pair of scales on which the birds are weighed. 
The seats are built up around the center. As we 
enter, there is much talking, laughing and 
gambling. 

It seems that every man has some wager on 
the different birds. What are those small, 
sharp knives which the men are fastening to 
the spurs of the poor fowls ? They are to help 
make the battle a deadly one. At last, in the 


268 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


midst of the uproar, the first battle begins. It 
means certain death to one or both the cocks. 
The birds seem to enjoy the fight. Feathers fly 
from their heads and sides and would fly also 
from their backs, if these had not been plucked 
bare. 

Sometimes a bird is blinded by the dust, and 
liis owner interferes, and squirts alum water 
into its eyes. The fight goes on until one cock 
lies breathing his last, and the other stands by 
him dizzy and tottering, and hanging to him 
still. Then the bets are paid and two more 
cocks brought in, and the noise and confusion 
begin again. These fights are kept up until 
dark; and though the game-cocks really enjoy 
fighting, it does not seem right to us that they 
should be encouraged by human beings, nor 
that people should enjoy watching their suffer- 
ing. We cannot blame our little cousins for 
this, since example and custom have combined 
to make it seem perfectly proper to them. 
But we hope that we shall soon have an oppor- 
tunity of teaching them better, for the Porto 
Ricans are Americans now, natives of our 
country, and it is only right that we should 
try to help our new little brothers and sisters 
to grow into good men and women, and it may 
be that they can teach us also something that 
would be good for us to know, for no one people 
has everything that is worth having, or knows 
everything that is worth knowing. 


Chapter XXIV. 

UNITED STATES. 

U TI 7E know all about American children,” 
VV you will perhaps say. Do you? 

Well then, suppose you do. Don’t 
you think the children in other countries, the 
French, German, Swiss, Dutch, Austrian, and 
other young people want to know something 
about you? Certainly. So we shall tell them 
just as soon as we arrive, what we do, how we 
amuse ourselves and how we grow up. 

Is it not pleasant to be back home again after 
our long trip round the world and our visit 
to our little cousins in all lands? We have been 
among the boys and girls from England to 
Japan, have seen them at home and at school, 
at work and at play, and have had a delightful 
time wandering about with them. Now, we are 
on our own continent again, among our own 
brothers and sisters, and we are sure you will 
all like to read a little about yourselves. 

Coming back from foreign countries we may 
land almost anywhere. We may reach Amer- 
ica at San Francisco in the west, at New York 
in the east, or at New Orleans in the south, 
and at all these places we will find a different 
set of boys and girls, each with a way of its 
own of doing things. 


( 269 ) 


270 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


You all know what this means. It means 
that we live in a great country, which stretches 
away for thousands of miles, and reaches from 
the warm south up to the cold north, and that 
people old and young alike, have to fit them- 
selves to the climate and the food and the state 
of nature under which they live. 

For many things which make our lives pleas- 
anter, we should thank other nations. Per- 
haps the greatest thanks of all we owe to the 
.Germans for the wonderful fairy stories and 
legends which we shall enjoy all our lives, and 
nursery rhymes we have had collected for us 
from every land. We are sure that no child 
in the whole world has so much literature 
printed for his benefit. 

The celebrating of Christmas began in Ger- 
many also, but the Fourth of July, 4 ‘the most 
noisy day in the year,” belongs wholly to the 
big United States of America. Tennis and 
hare-and-hounds we get from England. The 
game of marbles came to us originally from 
Holland. Hide-and-seek comes to us from 
Europe and was first played many centuries 
ago. Golf, shuffle-board and leap-frog are Eng- 
lish games, but it is surprising how many of 
our games and favorite amusements come from 
the ancient Greeks. Hop-skip-and-jump, the 
spinning of tops, blind man’s buff, skipping 
rope, and even riding a cane were first enjoyed 
by the little boys and girls of Rome and Greece. 


UNITED STATES 


271 


The Chinese have given to the world the fnn 
of flying kites. 

The National games of foot-ball and base- 
ball are English games changed to please 
more lively and more danger-loving natures. 
Rounders, the English game from which grew 
up base-ball, is different because the runner is 
“put out” by being hit with the thrown ball 
as well as being tagged at bases, but it is played 
with a soft ball which cannot hurt much. 

And ours is a wonderful country in another 
way. It is a new country, filled with people 
who have come from all parts of the earth, 
from England and all the countries of Europe, 
from India, China and Japan, from the black 
belt of Africa, and from all the other places 
whose children we have been to 'see. 

All these people have brought their own ways 
of living with them. So it comes that we have 
among us manners and customs, sports and 
plays, and ways of doing things that were bor- 
rowed from our many cousins in foreign lands. 
And this is not only among the older people, 
but among the little ones as well. You can see 
from this that it is not easy to tell all about 
the boys and girls of America, for in so doing 
we would have to go over again much of what 
we already know from our visits to many lands. 

Boy and girl life begins in America, as it 
does everywhere, with baby life, but you must 
know that the American baby is a more import- 


272 CHILDEEN OF ALL NATIONS 


ant little tot than the babies of some other 
countries we have seen. 

The baby of the United States ought to be the 
happiest in the world, he has so much care taken 
of him by his mamma, for there are in no 
country more loving and devoted mothers than 
the American. He is taken the greatest care 
of, just as you children were; hut he is not 
carried about on his mother’s back like the 
Indian children, nor is his head pressed flat like 
the Samoan baby’s, nor is he taught to strike 
his mother like the Fijian baby ; nor is he killed 
as so many Malagasy children are, if they are 
considered unlucky. No, he is washed, dressed, 
nursed and petted by all in the house. 

When a new baby comes into the household in' 
our land, there is a time indeed. All the family 
gather to see the little master or miss, all the 
cousins and aunts and uncles say that never 
before was there such a pretty little thing and 
they almost bow down before the tiny stranger 
as a native of India bows down before his 
ugly idol. 

And there is many another time in baby’s 
life when he is the center of an admiring cir- 
cle. When he cuts his first tooth, when he 
makes the first gurgle that seems like a word, 
when he first begins to crawl, and, above all, 
when he takes his first step alone from his 
mamma’s to his grandmamma’s knee. The 
jolly little rogue, how he claps his hand and 


UNITED STATES 


273 


laughs with glee, and how all laugh with him, 
and say that there never was a baby half so 
pretty, and sweet, and smart as this new mas- 
ter or mistress of the household. 

We are much afraid that the tiny creature, 
as he or she grows up, unless carefully taught, 
will be sadly spoiled. 

Our clever baby is soon able to crawl about 
and scramble after a ball, or perhaps play with 
his little brothers and sisters in the nursery. 
Our little American grows up, notwithstanding 
all his troubles and narrow escapes. He will 
crawl down stairs and up stairs and at times 
will even tumble down them like a certain 4 4 old 
man” in the nursery rhyme. Soon he sits up 
in his chair and begins to use his spoon and 
fork; he learns how to eat and drink without 
spilling his food and is taught to obey his 
parents. 

Now let us follow the little one upwards. 
There is a happy time between babyhood and 
boyhood or girlhood, when the little ones have 
nothing else to do but to run about and laugh 
and shout and play and have a good time and 
grow fat and sturdy and be as happy as the 
day is long. School time is coming, when they 
will be shut up much of the day in close rooms 
with books and slates. But there is a joyful 
time before school years begin, when little miss 
with her doll, and little master with his ball and 
whip have nothing to do but to run about and 
18 


274 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


grow and make mud pies and get as much dirt 
on their fine clothes as they can. 

But they are at school all this time, although 
they do not know it. Their first lesson, after 
they learn to walk, is to learn to talk, and that 
is not a small one. It begins with the 4 4 goo-goo ’ ’ 
and the 44 mum mum,” which cousins and aunts 
think so funny and mamma thinks so full of 
meaning, and goes on to real words ; and before 
we hardly know it the little one is talking away 
like ourselves. 

And that is only one of their lessons. Then 
come the picture books and the alphabet blocks, 
and the building blocks, and the wooden animals 
and tin soldiers, and the dressing of the doll, 
and the pretty stories they are told, by all of 
which, while not knowing it, they are being 
fitted for the school life to come. For all life 
is a school to us; we are all the time learning, 
whether indoors or out; and from the time the 
baby takes his first step or says his first word 
until the aged man or woman is laid in the 
cemetery, school life never ends. 

We have said much in past chapters about 
school-life and home-life abroad, and there is 
not much more to be said here, for in these 
respects the young American boy is very much 
like the young Englishman. His toys and his 
plays and the stories he is told are much the 
same as theirs. 

But when it comes to the young girl in Amer- 


UNITED STATES 


275 


ica, there is something to be said. She helps 
her mother in her duties and has a sweet home 
life like her cousin abroad; but she has a free 
out-door life too, a happy, hearty, wholesome 
one, in which she is not tied down by fears of 
getting into mischief, or running wild. And this 
is not only when she is little, but when she is 
grown. 

The English girl, and the French girl, and 
the girls of some other countries, as they grow 
up, must act like little ladies and learn to be 
polite, and to put on fine airs and graces. They 
must never go out without some older person 
to look after them, and chide them if they show 
any hearty signs of life, so that they get to be 
much like the German babies you have read 
about who are bandaged up until they cannot 
move hand or foot. Some of the girls abroad are 
bandaged up in their minds and their behavior 
is much the same way. 

That is not the way with the young American 
miss ; she is left free. She can go about without 
being watched, and can play with the boys as 
much as she pleases. And when she reaches 
the age of our little lady cousins abroad she 
does the same things. There is no older per- 
son to watch every step she takes, or look stern 
if she smiles or even talks pleasantly to a boy, 
or to tell her constantly “it is not polite to 
do this or do that.” No indeed! That is not 
the American way. Our young girls are left 


276 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


to innocent freedom, and no one thinks that it 
is dreadful to act in an easy and natural way. 
And are they the worse for this? Every one 
would say that they are the better, and we find 
that the people of Europe think that there are 
no young women on the earth so charming and 
natural and agreeable as those from our land 
of freedom. 

As for the American boy! Oh, well, boys 
are boys everywhere, but the true American 
boy will not “bully” or abuse those weaker than 
himself; the younger boys will be brave and 
plucky and not “tell tales,” but will fight their 
own battles when necessary. They must be 
kind to their sisters and respectful to their 
elders; but they are not expected to be quite 
as shy and proper as girls. They have to 
make their way in the world and must begin 
early. They have to study hard, it is true, but 
they are given plenty of time for play and they 
make the most of it. The time for work will 
come. It comes to some of them too early. But 
they will have their years of playtime, and are 
free to pick up all the health and strength that 
running, and swimming, and rowing, and 
wrestling, and plenty of fresh air can give 
them. 

It is on the playground that the best of the 
young American comes out. There he is just a 
hearty, wholesome, young animal. His games 
are much the same as those in other lands, but 


UNITED STATES 


277 


he plays them with a whole-souled energy. In 
place of the English game of cricket, the Amer- 
ican has his national game of base-ball, and the 
“ diamond” is to him like a battle-field, where 
he fights for triumph and victory as the soldier 
does in real war. It is a battle without blood- 
shed, but it is one that brings out all the alert- 
ness and strength and earnestness there is in 
the boy. 

And the American girl is not much behind 
the American boy in her games. Her favorite 
lawn tennis needs a skill and agility that makes 
the blood flow freely in the veins, and the game 
of basket-ball is, in its way, as hard and sharp 
a struggle as foot-ball. Our college girls do not 
tie themselves down to what are called ‘ 6 lady- 
like’ ’ amusements, but vie with their brothers 
in games fitted to make them agile and strong 
and healthy. 

It is when the school year is over and the 
summer holiday comes on that the American 
boy and girl have their happiest times. Then 
they have before them two or three months of 
fine fun and frolic, and they enjoy it to the full. 
There are those who are able to spend the holiday 
season in the country, the mountains, or at the 
seashore, often camping out and getting all the 
fresh air and enjoyment that life out of doors 
can give. The sun is barely above the morning 
mists before Tom and George and Harry and 
all the rest of them are up and out, dressed 


278 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


in knickerbockers and sweaters, ready for a 
long day in the hills or woods, or a long pull 
up or down stream. 

First comes the early plunge into cool flowing 
waters of river or creek, and the long swim 
through the purling waves. Then, while one 
is busy over the brushwood fire cooking the 
morning meal, the others may play games of 
lawn tennis or quoits, or some of them with 
rod and line may seek to take captive the finny 
tenants of the stream as a tasteful addition to 
their breakfast, to which they are sure to come 
with a hearty appetite. 

Breakfast over, it is not long before the 
dishes are cleared away with ‘ ‘ a lick and a 
promise,” for they have no time to waste in 
careful washing, and the day is before them. 
What is now to be done? Very likely this has 
been settled the night before. It may be a hunt- 
ing excursion in the woods and valleys, and the 
party are soon off with rifle and shot-gun on 
a day’s tramp in search of furred or feathered 
game. It may be a long tramp to some distant 
village to see some of their girl friends. If 
there are any young scientists in the camp, it 
may be a hunt with hammer and chisel among 
the rocks for fossils, or in field or forest for 
rare plants, or among trees and bushes for 
bugs and spiders or pretty winged butterflies. 
It may be a long river row or a bicycle spin. 
It may be one of a dozen forms of sport, for 


UNITED STATES 


279 


our young campers have many ways of spend- 
ing their time, and few days pass that they do 
not come back to their tents tired but happy, 
and often with brisk tales of adventure to tell. 
Many funny things happen to them, and some- 
times they meet with dangers and make narrow 
escapes from harm. 

That is one form of a summer outing. In 
winter these same young folks find other forms 
of sport. Our country, as you know, runs far 
from south to north. It has its tropic lands 
where summer lasts almost all the year round, 
and its frigid lands where snow lies for months 
and ice freezes a foot or more thick. 

Does this wintry chill keep our young friends 
within doors, hugging the stove! Not at all. 
The snow and ice are old and welcome friends, 
for they mean days of brisk skating and sleigh- 
ing to the older folks, and of splendid sport on 
their sleds to the younger, in which they coast 
down long, smooth hills, laughing and shouting 
at every tumble in the snow. Some again will 
build huge white snow figures or erect snow 
forts, and fight mimic battles with snow balls 
for ammunition and handkerchiefs for flags. 

This is the sport of the sons of the rich, or 
those with money to spend. Yes, there are 
many poor American children whose parents 
cannot afford to send them to the seashore, or 
into the country, or give them the luxuries of 
games or playthings, and who perhaps have no 


280 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


meat to eat ; they may never have seen the sea, 
and have no nice holidays. They must work 
for their parents, help in the housekeeping, and 
tend the baby — poor little baby! — wash, mend, 
learn their tasks, and up again at five or six the 
next morning. So you fortunate children who 
read this book remember to be kind and con- 
siderate to the children who have not had your 
advantages. You would have been very differ- 
ent if you had not been taken care of as you 
have. But even the poorest are not without 
some playtimes, and much is being done to make 
life pleasant to them. 

They have their picnics where they can 
spend a happy day in the great green parks, 
which all our cities now have. They have their 
river excursions and their long trolley rides 
to places where good music may be heard, and 
where there are games to be played and shows 
to be seen. And even in the streets the younger 
ones enjoy themselves with marbles and hoops 
and the older ones with games. 

As for the country boy, he finds much to 
amuse him. The woods and the waters are his, 
and much of his work is like play. How jolly 
it is to ride home to the barn on the great 
load of hay which he has helped to gather! 
And oh! to climb the cherry trees with their 
red harvest and feast on their juicy ripe fruit, 
or to help in the apple picking, or to go berry- 
ing and come back with pailfuls of the frag- 




The Children's Annual Fancy-dress Ball. 




UNITED STATES 


281 


rant strawberry or the shining blackberry! 
And in winter to gather round the warm hearth 
and pop chestnuts and corn, or have a genuine 
old-fashioned candy-pulling frolic! Certainly 
our country cousin need not feel prosy and dull. 

The best of all times to the young in our 
happy land are the annual holidays, the days 
set aside for sport, days when school is closed, 
books are laid aside, and cares and troubles are 
at an end. We have many of these happy days 
— Easter and Independence Day and Hallow- 
een and Thanksgiving and Christmas and 
New Year’s and others of less moment, days 
given over largely to pure enjoyment, even 
those which are supposed to be times of solemn 
religious ceremony. 

Two of these days are famous seasons of 
merrymaking, Fourth of July, or Independence 
Day, the special American holiday; and Christ- 
mas, which we share with all the Christian 
world. The first of these is our great out-of- 
doors festival, our summer holiday. The sec- 
ond is our indoors festival, the midwinter 
holiday. So they are as unlike as two days of 
joyous festival can well be. 

The Fourth of July is a carnival of noise. 
It is heralded for days in advance by the sharp 
reports of Chinese crackers, and comes in to 
the tooting of horns and the roar of all kinds 
of noisy cracking things. Many years ago J ohn 
Adams, one of the men who made the “Declara- 


282 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


lion of Independence, ’ ’ said that tliis day ought 
to he kept 4 4 with pomp and parade, with shows, 
games, sports, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other.’ ’ 
And so it has been kept ever since. 

He said nothing about fireworks, hut these 
are the great feature of the day, and the one 
in which the boys and girls most delight. All 
day long we hear the rattle and bang of 
crackers and bombs and toy pistols, and every- 
thing that will make a noise, the louder the 
better; and when night comes down the pin- 
wheel, the rocket and Roman candle take up 
the tale, till the skies seem everywhere 
sprinkled with new stars. Those with weak 
nerves are glad enough when midnight passes 
and the noise dies out, hut to the small boy 
the day is one of endless joy and glee. 

Next in order comes mid-autumn, with the 
Scotch festival of Hallowe’en, the time when 
the witches are said to be abroad and all sorts 
of magical tricks are tried, especially by young 
girls who wish to see the face of their future 
husband. Country and village boys are now 
apt to play mischievous tricks, carrying off 
and hiding gates and out-door things, taking 
cows up into lofts, and other things which 
witches might do, while city boys go abroad in 
masks and fancy or funny dresses, ring bells 
and do other innocent mischief. 

In the evening the children invite some 


UNITED STATES 


283 


friends and have 4 ‘ barrels of fun. ’ ’ ‘ ‘Bobbing ’ ’ 
for apples in a tub of water is usually the com- 
mencement of the proceedings. To snatch an 
apple in the water by the teeth and lips is not 
a very easy feat to perform, and the person 
blows and splutters, with face under water, 
until nearly choked, amid the laughter of all 
the party. When the apple is at last secured, 
it is a ‘ 4 lucky ’ 9 sign, and the fruit is cut up, 
while from the skin mysterious prophecies are 
foretold. 

Melting the lead is another way of pretend- 
ing to tell fortunes. The lead is run into water, 
and there assumes very pretty shapes, from 
which an experienced or an extremely imagin- 
ative person may tell the future with great 
applause. It is needless to add that this is all 
guess-work, which may occasionally come true. 
We well remember on one occasion the “ three 
saucers ’ 9 conveying a destiny which proved 
correct. A ring, some water, and money are 
placed respectively in three saucers. The per- 
former is blind-folded and led to the table. The 
ring means marriage, the money riches, the 
water misery (tears). 

The popping of chestnuts generally com- 
pletes the amusements. As the party is seated 
around the fire watching the “pairs” burning, 
each boy chooses a partner nut, which is placed 
beside his. If the lady nut remains and burns 
with him (his nut) they are voted constant. 


284 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


If lie or she pops, and jumps away, the match 
is “off.” 

Thanksgiving is a feast day when little and 
big alike fill themselves with good things. It 
is soon followed by the great feast and festi- 
val day of the year, Merry, Merry Christmas, 
the day sacred to Kriss Kingle or Santa Clans, 
the day of giving of good gifts, of meeting of 
happy families, of feasting and indoor sport, 
and of jolly, happy good times of every kind yon 
can think of inside the honse. 

We have all been through it time after time, 
fat and rosy little George, and merry and smil- 
ing little Susan, and myself and yourself and 
everybody’s self, and we all look forward with 
joyful hope to when we shall go through it 
again, for to many and many it is the j oiliest 
day of all the good round year. 

Do we not all remember those happy holiday 
times? For days and days before how we did 
without what we wanted, to save all our pen- 
nies and dimes to buy presents for dear mamma 
and teasing uncle Tom and pretty cousin Kate, 
and how silent and secret we were about it, 
and what joy we had in thinking of how they 
would be pleased when they opened the close 
tied parcels and saw our gifts! 

And then how eagerly we gazed at the mys- 
terious packages that came to the house and 
were stored slyly away as if with fear that 
we would open and peep into them. No fear of 


UNITED STATES 


285 


that! We wanted sadly to know what they 
were, bnt at the same time we didn’t want to 
know, for that would have spoiled all the sweet 
surprise of the Christmas opening of gifts. 

Christmas Eve came at last, and there was 
a stir of restless excitement all through the 
house. We well remember the breathless 
ceremony of the hanging of the stockings, and 
our wonder how Kriss could ever get to them 
and what he would bring. Then came the 
hustling off to bed at an early hour, and the 
trying to keep awake to hear the hoofs of the 
reindeer on the snowy roof, the jingle of silver 
bells or the crack of Santa Claus’s whip, and 
the rustle of his pack as he came down the 
chimney. And from below came sounds of 
strange bustle and stir, to which we listened 
in pleased wonder until sleep fell upon our 
drowsy eyes and all was lost to us in slumber. 

Morning came and eyes opened again. And 
perhaps when mamma came down stairs early 
to open the windows she heard odd sounds in 
the living room. Peeping in, she saw one or 
more little white-robed figures seated on the 
floor, stocking in lap, pulling out its treasures 
with eager glee* but afraid to laugh for fear of 
waking up the whole household. 

When full day dawned and everybody was 
down stairs, what happy greetings of “ Merry 
Christmas ’ ’ were heard on all sides, while every 
face was smiling and all were as jolly and 
gleeful as they well could be. 


286 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


None of the little ones ate much breakfast 
that morning. They were too full of blissful 
hope to think of eating. They could scarcely 
wait for what they knew was coming. And 
how they danced and clapped their hands with 
glee when the doors of the parlor or sitting- 
room were thrown open and they saw there 
a great, glittering green tree, bearing such 
fruit as no tree surely ever before, toys of 
every sort and kind one could dream of, and 
shining balls and long rows of bright tinsel, 
and gifts for all among them, the very things 
they had so long wanted and hardly dared hope 
for. 

And nearby, on table-top or piano cover, or 
elsewhere, lay in heaps the mysterious pack- 
ages they had long seen coming and wondered 
so much about. What a jolly time was the 
opening of these packages and the display of 
their hidden contents. What cries of gladness 
and surprise were heard, what joyful thanks, 
kisses and huggings, and what a row of merry 
faces were seen around that room ! Could 
there be a more happy time? 

That is not all the story of Christmas. It 
is a day of joy throughout. There is the 
church going, where one is so lost in admiration 
of the splendid decorations and the fine music 
as hardly to hear a word of what the minister 
says. There are the visits to other young 
friends, who have their toys and gifts to show, 


UNITED STATES 


287 


perhaps the sleigh ride, if there is snow on 
the ground, the fun and merry-making of every 
kind, and, greatest event of all, the grand 
Christmas dinner, the choicest of all the year. 

The shining brown roast turkey holds the 
post of honor at the American Christmas din- 
ner, as the roast goose does at that of our 
English cousins. Poor is the family indeed that 
cannot afford a turkey on this great feast day 
of the year. And there is everything else nice 
that one can think of, ending with the plum 
pudding and mince and pumpkin pie, the nuts 
and fruits and everything of the best. But 
we fear that many of the little ones have a very 
poor appetite for dinner after the candy and 
sweetmeats they have already devoured. 

Most of our young readers will see something 
they have known themselves in this story of 
a Christmas day. But if they had a chance to 
speak out they would have other things to tell, 
for Christmas is kept in different ways in differ- 
ent homes and in different parts of the coun- 
try. It is the great world festival and you 
have read something in other chapters of how 
it is kept elsewhere, and so we have tried to 
give an idea of how it is kept here. 

Even in our own country there are differ- 
ent ways of keeping Christmas. It has always 
been a great day in the middle states and the 
south, but in New England the great feast-day 
has long been Thanksgiving, and in New York 


288 CHILDREN OF ALL NATIONS 


the day of festival was of old on New Year’s 
Day. But even in these States Christmas is 
making its way. In the south it has always been 
the great day of the year, not only to the white 
folks but still more to the blacks. An old time 
Christmas on a southern plantation in the days 
of slavery was one of the happiest and j oiliest 
times one could imagine, and in many ways it 
is much the same yet. 

We are now near the end of our round-the- 
world talk. We have been in all the lands where 
men and women live, and looked upon their boys 
and girls at work and at play, and have seen the 
many ways they have of passing their lives. 
And we have seen much of what the older folks, 
their fathers and mothers, do. It is not all fun 
and frolic ; they have many troubles to meet and 
hardships to endure, but there is some share of 
happiness for them all. 

If any of our little Americans had to live 
like many of their far-off cousins, we fear they 
would not like it very much. But that is because 
they are brought up in different ways. Yet 
there is pleasure and enjoyment to be had every- 
where, and the children of all nations get their 
share of it. For all that, we fancy that our 
young American readers will think that their 
own ways are the best. Maybe the Eskimo boy 
of Alaska, in his snow hut, might say the same 
thing. 

Of course, we have not told the whole story 


UNITED STATES 


289 


of boy and girl life in America. To do so, our 
story would be good for half the world, for 
our people have come from more than half 
the world. There is one way of life in the sunny 
south and another way in the snowy north; 
one way in the city and another in the country ; 
one way on the Atlantic and another on the 
Pacific coast, and many ways in the homes of 
the German, the Italian, the Russian and other 
settlers who may be found in all parts of our 
land. 

But in spite of this difference in race and 
climate and country, boys and girls are in many 
ways alike in all parts of the world ; everywhere 
the little girl loves and fondles her doll, and 
the boy likes his ball and his sled. And every- 
where they love to run and laugh and climb and 
play and have as good a time as they can before 
they have to begin their life of hard work. 


Every Child’s Library 


Boo ks "That Every Child Can 
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1. Because the subjects have all proved their lasting popu- 
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2. Because of the simple language in which they are written. 

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This Series of Books comprises subjects that appeal to 
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ard books written in language that children can read and 
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Carefully Edited. Each work is carefully edited by 
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Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. Price, 75 Cents 


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LIVES OF OUR PRESIDENTS— Every child can read. 

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( Other Titles in Preparation) 

CATALOGUE MAILED ON APPLICATION 

THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers 

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THE FAMOUS STANDARD JUVENILES 


Published by 

THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 
Philadelphia 


EDWARD S. ELLIS. 

Edward S. Ellis, the popular writer of boys’ books, is 
a native of Ohio, where he was born somewhat more 
than a half-century ago. His father was a famous 
hunter and rifle shot, and it was doubtless his exploits 
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work was acceptable from the first. His parents re- 
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graduated from the State Normal School and became a 
member of the faculty while still in his teens. He was 
afterward principal of the Trenton High School, a trus- 
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his services as a writer had become so pronounced that 
he gave his entire attention to literature. He was an 
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text-books for schools, all of which met with high 
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ton College conferred upon him the degree of Master 
of Arts. 

The high moral character, the clean, manly ten- 
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to place in the hands of her boy any book written by 
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libraries, where, as may well be believed, they are in 
wide demand and do much good by their sound, whole- 
some lessons which render them as acceptable to pa- 
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ductions from his pen in the near future. 


DEERFOOT SERIES. 

3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Hunters of the Ozark. The Last War Trail. 

Camp in the Mountains. 

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By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Footprints in the Forest. 
Camp-Fire and Wigwam. 

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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Ned in the Block-House. Ned on the River. 

Ned in the Woods. 

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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Two Boys in Wyoming. Cowmen and Rustlers. 

A Strange Craft and its Wonderful Voyage. 

COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 
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3 vols. 
Lost Trail. 


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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Red Eagle. Blazing Arrow. 

Iron Heart, War Chief of the Iroquois. 

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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Deerfoot in the Forest. Deerfoot on the Prairie. 
Deerfoot in the Mountains. 

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By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Dorsey, the Young Inventor. 
Secret of Coffin Island. 

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2 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $2.00 

Teddy and Towser; or. Early Days in California. 

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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

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Lost in the Forbidden Land. River and Jungle. 

The Hunt of the White Elephant. 

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The Forest Messengers. The Mountain Star. 

Queen of the Clouds. 

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3 vols. By Edward S. Ellis. $3.00 

Off the Reservation. Trailing Geronimo. 

The Round Up. 


3 vols. 

Jim and Joe. 


HORATIO ALGER, JR. 


The enormous sales of the books of Horatio Alger, 
Jr., show the greatness of his popularity among the 
boys, and prove that he is one of their most favored 
writers. I am told that more than half a million copies 
altogether have been sold, and that all the large circu- 
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Mr. Alger became famous with the publication of 
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at once caught the fancy of the boys. “Ragged Dick” 
first appeared in 1868, and ever since then it has been 
selling steadily, until now it is estimated that about 
200,000 copies of the series have been sold. 

— “Pleasant Hours for Boys and Girls.” 


A writer for boys should have an abundant sym- 
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A boy’s heart opens to the man or writer who under- 
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From “Writing Stories for Boys,” by Horatio Alger, Jr, 


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Frank’s Campaign. Charlie Codman’s Cruise. 

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Bound to Rise. Herbert Carter’s Legacy. 

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Brave and Bold. Shifting for Himself. 

Jack’s Ward. Wait and Hope. 


$4.00 


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OCT 3 ISOfi 


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Walter Sherwood’s Probation. A Boy’s Fortune. 

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Jed, the Poorhouse Boy. Rupert’s Ambition. 

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COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND QIRU 
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